# Senile Texas Aggie - comic relief for the rest of you



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

    We have been a member of BYH for about a month.  I first joined after reading @Baymule writing about "I hate green briars!" and finding it so funny.  Shortly after signing up, I then posted a thread about "What should I do with 100 acres of pasture?" and received so much helpful advice from many of you fine folks.  After reading a couple of other folks' journals, such as @Latestarter and @Mike CHS , I decided I would read a lot more on this forum.  I tried reading a lot of journals and postings by others, but after awhile I could see that there is so much information here that I could read for the rest of my life and still not be finished.  So I will lay out the info about us and what we know (and especially DON'T know) and how you folks can provide the advice we definitely need.  First, I will fill in the questions from the "For those who don't know where to begin":

1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like?
    We recently (2 months ago) bought a farm 6 miles southeast of Booneville, AR, (30 miles ESE of Fort Smith) moving here from McKinney, TX (30 miles NNE of Dallas), after my retiring at 65.

    As for climate, it unfortunately has the same heat that McKinney did!

2. How many people are in your family? Marital status?
    It is just the 2 of us, no children.  We have been married for 43 years.

3. How would you define your farm?
    A very beautiful place that is at high risk of becoming a not-so-beautiful place because it is owned by someone who doesn't know what in the world he is doing.

4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed?
    I would try to get the pastures in great shape and clean out the overgrowth in the woods.  Some day...

5. Have you ever built a house, barn , or other types of building? Do you want to?
    I have only built 2 small structures since my wife and I have been married: (1) a small metal portable garden shed (funny story behind that), and (2) a dog house.  Regarding the latter, after I finished and I brought our dog to it, he immediately hiked his leg and peed on it!  I guess he was commenting on its build quality.

    I would love to learn, but doubt I will ever have the chance.

6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet?
    No.

7. Who or what inspired you to be a farmer/rancher, hobby farmer?
    We bought this place primarily for the solitude and the beauty.  But now that we have it, I need to figure out what to do with it.

8 Is it a hobby or an occupation?
    A hobby.

9. In what areas are you knowledgeable and in what areas would you like to learn more?
    My wife and I am completely ignorant about living on a farm.  Both my mother and dad grew up on farms during the Depression and World War II, and when my dad was able to leave and started working at the Red River Army Depot (RRAD, then called the Red River Arsenal) in Northeast Texas, he vowed he would never live on a farm again.  So we lived in small towns (De Kalb and New Boston).  When growing up, my wife also lived in a small town (New Boston), and her dad also worked at RRAD.  When we married, due to my occupation, we always lived in bigger towns and some cities, until my retiring.  Because of all of that, we never learned much of anything about farming.

10. In what types of farming will you never choose to do?
    I don't know that we will automatically rule out anything, but considering that I will turn 66 in 2 months and my wife recently turned 61, and while we are in relatively good health, we definitely aren't getting any younger, so I can't see us raising large animals, such as cows, pigs, or even sheep.  (We are thinking of perhaps goats.)

11. Are you interested in providing more of your own food supply?
    We wouldn't mind trying.  Our one and only attempt at growing a garden was 42 years ago, when we had been married less than a year.  We managed to grow a lot more weeds and grass than vegetables, and what vegetables we had were eaten on by insects.  But we are thinking about trying again.

12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world?
    My wife is the more extroverted of us two, while I am strongly introverted and also an Aspie.  But we both like peace and quiet.  We read numerous books together -- I have loved to read as long as I can remember.  It is our practice to have me read a book to her almost every night for 2-3 hours before going to bed, sometimes fiction but usually nonfiction.  We are currently reading a book titled "Educated" by Tara Westover.

13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi?
    Maybe and no.  I drove a big John Deere tractor one summer when I was in high school on Blackmon Rice Farm northeast of De Kalb.  I haven't driven one since.

14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these?
   No and yes.

15. Can you legally have all forms of livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds?
   Yes.  No.  N/A

16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood?
    No.

17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing?
    Haven't tried since 1976 (see point 11).  Would like to learn, though.

18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives?
    I like to go fishing, but rarely go.  When I was a kid, my dad and I would go hunting (usually quail) and fishing (usually large mouth bass).  Then my dad discovered golf and became a fanatic about it ("the golf is always biting" he would say) and I took it up as well.

19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City farm? Country?
    162 acres, with about 100 acres in pasture and the rest in timber.  This was WAY more than we planned to buy, but it was so beautiful and the price per acre so low that we hated to pass it up.

20. Are you a Novice, Technician, degreed?
   In farming / ranching, a novice.  As for degree, I have both a BS and MS in software engineering for defense contractors.  (Look up LSRS to see what I worked on for the last 15+ years.).  My wife has an associate degree in nursing and worked for 40 years as a surgical nurse.

21. What is your farm specialty? Or what one would you like to learn?
    None.  Taking care of pastures and timber.

22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take?
    Teaching senile Texas Aggies like me how to take care of the land we have.

23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet?
    No, but I would like to learn.

24. Are you interested in herbal animal medicine?
    Maybe.

25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be?
    Some place that didn't get so damned hot in the summer, that would have snow for maybe 2 weeks, and otherwise be pleasant.

26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking?
    No.  Our house has central heat (propane) and A/C and a propane fireplace.  (Can you believe it?  All of this timber around and no fireplace to burn it in!)

27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be?
    Tough one...

28. Are your family or friends also interested in animals?
    My wife's older brother keeps cows, but the remainder of her family and all of my family only have dogs and cats.

29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs?
    I don't know about liking to cook, but I definitely like to eat!  We are both interested in wholesome foods.

30. What was your best animal experience? Worst?
    Both are of pets: my best one was owning a miniature schnauzer for almost 14 years.  (He has been dead now for 9 years and I still miss him.)  My worst experience was also from a neighbor's dog, who bit me on my right hand when I was about 6.  It left a scar that took over 10 years to go away.  I definitely avoided that dog afterward.

31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs?
    No.

32. What skills do you have that help you be more a self sufficient farm?
   Basic electrical skills (I put up our self opening driveway gate) and basic automotive skills (my dad and I overhauled several engines when I was a teenager).

33. Do you process your own meat? Can or preserve?
    No and no.

34. Do you use alternative energy sources on your farm? Would you like to?
    A small solar panel to charge the gate opener.  We would like to go solar but have higher priority items on which to focus our efforts.

35 What is on your to do list?
    (1) Figuring out what kind of tractor (or even IF) to buy, along with implements.  I have read some postings on BYH and received some excellent input on my post about "What should I do with 100 acress of pasture?".  I also found a guy on Youtube, "Ask Tractor Mike", and watched all of his videos, so I have a better idea of tractors and implements, but still have a lot to do.
    (2) Clean out the overgrowth from around the 2 ponds we have.  My wife and I had managed to clear out about half of the growth around one pond.  Then I saw how quickly someone was able to clear out some brush and trees using a grapple that we both lost interest working in the heat when a tractor could do a much faster job.
    (3) mow the overgrown pastures.
    (4) clear out a lot of the underbrush around the edges of the woods and around the property boundaries
    (5) improve the fencing around the property
    (6) maybe get some goats to raise


36. Have you ever lived completely off what you produce? Would you like to?
    No.  Maybe.

37. In what do you trust?
    Reason.

38. Do you make and fix things yourself to save money?
    Sometimes.

39. Has the experience with animals changed your attitude or habits?
   N/A

    Well, this will do for starters.  I hope I did not bore you folks too much.  I look forward to your commentary and also in providing comic relief to you folks as I continue to document our misadventures and learning experiences.  (As my late dad used to say, "Live and learn, then die and forget it all.")

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> (2) Clean out the overgrowth from around the 2 ponds we have. My wife and I had managed to clear out about half of the growth around one pond. Then I saw how quickly someone was able to clear out some brush and trees using a grapple that we both lost interest working in the heat when a tractor could do a much faster job.


What type growth do you have around the pond?
species?
Photo?


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## Baymule

What fun y'all are going to have, figuring out all this stuff you don't know. Get some chickens. Build a predator proof coop and run, and get some chickens. They are easy to care for, resilient and lay eggs! Chickens are the "gateway" farm animal...…..


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, Miss @Baymule and @greybeard , for your replies.  Regarding starting with chickens, we may just do that.  Once we decided to buy property instead of going RV fulltime like we originally planned, we watched several Youtube channels, primarily Stoney Ridge Farmer, where he showed what he was doing with chickens.  So we are considering it.  Right now we are trying to get a handle on all of the overgrowth along the woods, around the 2 ponds, and in the southeast pastures.

@greybeard, you asked what kind of growth we have along the pond, along with pictures.  I will do more than that, as I will provide pictures of many of the areas around the farm that need work.  First, here is the satellite view of our property as shown on the Logan County tax assessor's website (apologies for the crappy edges around the property -- I can't use the mouse touchpad very well):


 

    Here are the pictures around the north pond, where my wife and I had been working to clean out:
 

    Location A, looking east:


 

    Location A, looking northeast:




    Location B, looking east along the dam:




      Location C, looking southeast at the back of the dam:




    Location D looking southwest, where we stopped clearing the dam:


 
    Location D, looking southeast:




    South pond.
 

    Location A, looking east.




    More pictures with next post...

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

More pictures.

    Northwest corner of south pasture:
 

    Location A;, looking east.  (Miss @farmerjan , you might want to take a strong antacid before looking.  It makes me ill just looking as well.)




    Location A, looking south:


 
    As you can see in the pictures, a good bit of the property is getting overgrown and needs mowing badly.  So I have been looking at tractors and trying to decide what to buy.

    I have read numerous times that I should buy the biggest tractor I can afford (and at least makes sense).  Almost no one wishes they had bought a smaller tractor but many people wish they had bought a larger one.  And if money were no object, I would do just that.  But while we have a good bit of money in IRAs, we have very little income at the moment, as I am deferring taking Social Security until I turn 70 (in 4 years), while my wife will take her SS next year when she turns 62.  If we were to have some major expenses, then having spent a lot of money on a tractor might bite us.  Yet I cannot continue to vacillate -- the overgrowth is getting worse and if I wait much longer, I will need a really big tractor for sure!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Location B, looking east along the dam:



Looks like the pictures were taken when you were in a slow rainfall period as I can tell by looking at the tail end of the ponds that the water level is down a good bit.
The picture above...
I caution you about cleaning too much of the native vegetation off of it until you get a real good handle on what the water does when periods of extensive rains come.
erosion and silt coming into a pond is the death of it, and especially on the earthen dam.


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Location A, looking south:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As you can see in the pictures, a good bit of the property is getting overgrown and needs mowing badly. So I have been looking at tractors and trying to decide what to buy.
> 
> I have read numerous times that I should buy the biggest tractor I can afford (and at least makes sense).



A  40 hp tractor, a 10 acre area  and 6' bush hog type  mower.


 
2 hrs later.


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## farmerjan

@greybeard shows you that you don't need a huge 100 hp tractor and a big batwing bush hog.  Really, you don't want a small "compact" of 25 hp but you ought to do fine with a 40-60 hp tractor.  If you are looking at a dealer, maybe can find a used one that someone traded for a larger one.  One thing to consider, if it has a front end loader it will be a plus in many ways.  Not essential, but you will find lots of things to use it for and it can even scoop snow if needed.  But at this point a bush hog type mower is pretty essential, and then you need to set a "schedule"  of doing so much area at a time so that it doesn't seem overwhelming, but gives you a goal to work on.  Section by section.  
No I am not having "heart palpations" at the weeds....we have some places that are looking pretty sorry right now as we are very busy in hay after having a 2-3 week delay with the rain.  Just look at it this way, if you get it mowed down, that is more organic matter going back into the soil.  But it is a shame to waste the open space and maybe it would be to your advantage to try to get someone to continue making hay until you really know what you want to do.

Very pretty views.


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## farmerjan

I am NOT PROMOTING any make or model;  BUT Kubota has some very attractive financing deals of 0% for anywhere from 4-7 years all according to a downpayment.  They also are supposed to be very reliable and I am seriously looking at a small compact sized one with small loader and other implements like a tiller.  I have a small barn where I keep my milk cows/nurse cows, and limited access in the door so none of our bigger tractors on the farm fit.  I have a lawn mower that gives me a fit and am thinking maybe I just need a good all purpose small tractor that I can use where our big ones are just too much, and ditch the lawnmower too.  I have been looking at several other brands, and have looked at a couple used but they were almost as expensive as new and no financing or warrantys... so a new one may be the way to go.  $12 to $14,000 is alot of money, but it would be the last one I would ever buy that size and has very good resale value.  I buy everything else used, and pay cash, so maybe a few years of 0% would not be such a bad deal....


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## greybeard

For the big open spaces, yes, you will need a tractor, but I've not needed a 100hp tractor here and I did everything I needed to do except the logging and piling with tractors less than 50hp. I do have a backhoe/loader combo too but to be honest, I've used it very little except for digging some ditches and spreading some roadway material and it's weight is a deterrent to me using it in wet seasons.  

Tractors with front end loaders........ Yes, they come in handy IF you have a daily or weekly use for them, but, if you do any work in wooded areas, you will find the front loader gets in your way a lot. Less maneuvering room, but should you get livestock, you can handle round bales with a fel easily and usually can handle one round on the front and another on a hay spear or hay fork on the back. There have been times I wished I had a tractor with a fel, but most of the time, I'm glad I didn't.  There's just very little that I can't do with rear/3pt attachments and implements. 

I do not mow weeds any longer. I spray them. Mowing most weeds in the South is an exercise in futility...they just grow right back, whether they are annuals or perennials. 

If I were to buy a new tractor today it would probably be a Massey Ferguson. I'm not a fan of Kubotas. I spent too long working at a Kubota dealership and saw firsthand the warranty and just out of warranty problems they had, but that may have been true if it had been a different brand dealership as well.

If you wish to make your ponds accessible by foot and clean the brush & grass up around them, I suggest a GOOD 2 cycle weedeater with a brush blade on the end of it. Just get one big enough to handle the brush blade.
That brush blade is a thing of destruction and can really knock those weeds and reeds down in a hurry, but I wouldn't clear out too much of the stuff that is growing IN the water that provides infrastructure for the small fish and other aquatic life that will keep your pond in balance..basically somewhere for them to hide and feed. 

You really need to find a way as quickly as possible to get the bulk of that 100 ac under ag exemption to lower your property taxes. Right now, that would probably mean a lease agreement, either for hay or grazing or both. The wooded area you may be able to get under timber exemption, which is a little different than livestock or cropland ag exemption. Timber exemption is more than just having trees. You''ll have to put together a plan to have some mature trees harvested some point down the road (here, it's within 5 years if there is already a mature growth of trees in place)  Ag and timber both require 'production' but does not necessarily require you to show a profit.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, @greybeard and Miss @farmerjan , for your wise counseling.  I am SO ignorant in so many things.  I am considering contacting the guy who baled the hay and working out a lease agreement.  I think that would take care of the pastures that are worth growing hay on.  That would leave the woods and the south pastures that aren't worth baling hay on.

   Regarding the pond, I currently have the following equipment to manage the growth:
   + 4 cycle troy-built string trimmer with the following attachments:
      - string trimmer (of course)
      - brush cutter
      - hedge trimmer
      - pole saw
    + Kobalt battery powered hedge trimmer
    + Dewalt power too pack, including a reciprocating saw
    + Troy-built push type lawn mower and Cub Cadet Zero-turn radius riding lawn mower
    + hand powered hedge trimmers and lopping shears
    + no chain saw yet

    Greybeard, when you say to be cautious about clearing out the vegetation around the pond, I had (mistakenly?) thought that I could clear out the undergrowth on the pond dam but leave the mature trees.  That way, little direct rain would strike the dam, hitting the trees first.  We had hoped to make the pond accessible to fishing from the dam, and were considering setting up a bench and picnic table on the south bank of the pond under the sweet gum trees.  But I certainly don't want to cause erosion around the pond if I can help it.

    Regarding the tax issues, where can I find out what the tax laws are, whether property taxes and tax exemptions, but also federal tax laws for agricultural and timber use?  I normally do my own taxes, but now that we have retired and radically changed our financial situation, I definitely need to learn more.  Is there some kind of book such as "Farming Tax Laws for Senile Texas Aggies"?

    And while I am asking, I hope you fine folks can tell me how to avoid damaging a tractor's PTO shaft while grass mowing.  Here is the link to the Youtube video where I first learned about the issue:  



 .  How do you folks clear out low areas without damaging your tractor and brush hog?

    Finally, (@Baymule , you will probably get a kick out of this), how do I deal with green briars?  We cleared them out around the gate when we first bought the place.  They have started growing back.  I sprayed them with glysophate.  They must have thought it was fertilizer, because they are continuing to grow like crazy!

    Thanks again to everyone for trying to help us learn as much as we can.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> And while I am asking, I hope you fine folks can tell me how to avoid damaging a tractor's PTO shaft while grass mowing. Here is the link to the Youtube video where I first learned about the issue: . How do you folks clear out low areas without damaging your tractor and brush hog?



1. 'Tractor Mike' should have told people to raise the mower up some as the tractor descended down into the ravine. 
2. In that kind of situation, I'm more concerned about what happens on the other end of the toplink..the tractor end. On many tractors, where the toplink pins to the tractor, is a housing that contains a real stiff control spring, with a shaft running thru it. (on some tractors, the spring is on the outside) The spring compresses when the toplink is pushed forward, the shaft acts on some linkage inside the lift housing and the apparatus that linkage connects helps to keep the implement level, especially if you are operating in what is called 'draft control'' instead of the normal 'position control' with your 3pt lift control levers. IF the trailing implement is raised in the back by uneven terrain that enough forward force is exerted on the toplink that the spring is completely compressed, damage can occur inside the 3pt lift housing and that can get a lot more expensive than a drive line. In addition, it is also fairly easy to break the toplink pin in points on the tractor as they are normally cast iron. Some of the newer designs have done away with the heavy compression spring, and the toplink shaft has a hydraulic piston attached to it inside the 3pt guts and that acts on a servo, but damage can still occur if too much forward force is exerted on the toplink by the implement.
3. There are different kinds of setups for the toplink on mowers. Rigid and flexible/swinging.

I believe 'Tractor Mike's'video shows a rigid connection for the toplink on the mower.
Rigid:



 

Many mowers have a swinging connection, which allows a lot more safety factor if the mower is raised up by the terrain.  Normally, if it were a fixed toplink connection, the toplink would have been pinned at position B, but since it has a swinging TL setup, the adjustable TL gets pinned at Position A. When you pick the implement up, the mower pivots on the 2 lift arms and that swing arm straightens up in line with the toplink instead of sagging down as it is in the picture.


 


But honestly, in over 50 years of running a variety of tractors and mowers, thru all kinds of terrain, I've never torn up a drive line or destroyed a U joint because of what the mower did. It's just one of the things you learn when descending down into a ravine, arroyo or draw..you start raising the mower as soon the tractor starts up the other side. This keeps the front of the mower closer to horizontal with the output shaft of the PTO and lets the blades still cut as they rotate around to the 6 o'clock position. The blades don't give a crap whether the leading edges are doing the cutting or the trailing edges are.


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Finally, (@Baymule , you will probably get a kick out of this), how do I deal with green briars? We cleared them out around the gate when we first bought the place. They have started growing back. I sprayed them with glysophate. They must have thought it was fertilizer, because they are continuing to grow like crazy!


Probably _Smilax bona-nox_
I'll put my 2Ȼ in here tho it probably won't go over well with some.
 Greenbrier is extremely difficult to get rid of because:
1. It, like dewberry and blackberry has a very large capacity to store energy in a bulbous part of it's root system. It's why, when you cut it down, it grows right back each time.





2. Both the plant's thorny vine/stalk and it's leaves are waxy and shiny, which means most water based herbicides will not be absorbed by the plant leaves or stems and therefore the root system will live on, and probably the above ground part as well. You need a product that will penetrate the waxy leaf and stalk..a crop/vegetable or petroleum based oil/solvent. (I use diesel)

Unless you have extremely loose sandy soil, grubbing/digging it out of the ground is a backbreaking chore, and even then, greenbrier also produces seeds which means the natural seedbank will contain many many seeds just waiting for the right time to sprout and emerge, but I've killed hundreds if thousands of them and never picked up a shovel or pickax.
Even this, is only about 75-80% effective, meaning up to 1/4 of all the plants you spray won't die.
Your old alma mater has developed the fix.
http://counties.agrilife.org/smith/files/2011/06/7668972153_9.pdf

There are a few variants of greenbrier that have dull leaves and they ARE susceptible to glyco and other water based herbicides.


(You, like me, are now old. Work smart, not hard)


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> 11. Are you interested in providing more of your own food supply?
> We wouldn't mind trying. Our one and only attempt at growing a garden was 42 years ago, when we had been married less than a year. We managed to grow a lot more weeds and grass than vegetables, and what vegetables we had were eaten on by insects.


Welcome to gardening! 



farmerjan said:


> $12 to $14,000 is alot of money, but it would be the last one I would ever buy that size


$14K doesn't buy much in the way of a new tractor these days. It might get you the smallest sub-compact which really isn't big enough to handle acreage, certainly not anything close to what @Senile_Texas_Aggie has.


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## Latestarter

You can also peruse Craig's list for tractors for sale. If you can hire out for the field to be mowed right now to get the weeds knocked back, and get serious about a used tractor later in the fall, there are deals to be had. Many larger tractor dealerships also rent out equipment and you might be able to rent a tractor with brush hog over a weekend and get it done yourself. I know the Kubota dealership near me does and believe the John Deere dealership does as well. A weekend ought to be enough to get it all done depending on weather of course. As for size, I would guess that a tractor in the 40-50hp range would be more than adequate... I don't have one yet either, and sure wish I did. I just want one strong enough to lift a round bale with the FEL. Oh, and I believe most of the tractor FEL's nowadays are quick connect/disconnect, so you can take it off the tractor if you need tight maneuvering in the woods for example.


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## greybeard

Bruce said:


> $14K doesn't buy much in the way of a new tractor these days. It might get you the smallest sub-compact which really isn't big enough to handle acreage, certainly not anything close to what @Senile_Texas_Aggie has



I'm pretty sure that's probably what she is talking about..just something to replace her lawnmower and do a bit more too. A New Holland 'Boomer 24 series for instance with a loader and 60" deck might come close to that price range if she didn't mind having last year's model.

or if she likes orange..she could probably get a loader with it for $2k-$3k more.
From Kubota build me one/choose options and price page:






> I have a lawn mower that gives me a fit and am thinking maybe I just need a good all purpose small tractor that I can use where our big ones are just too much, and ditch the lawnmower too.


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## Bruce

Guess I'd have to see the "lawn" before I could decide if that would be a good "mower plus" replacement. Certainly not with the Ag tires though.


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## greybeard

You would tear more grass up with the %$#!@*& tail wheel than with the ag tires unless you raised the mower at every turn...


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## farmerjan

The Kubota that I was looking at when I stopped by the dealer was a "sub-compact".  I was concerned about the following...IN THIS ORDER....width and height to get in the small barn/shed that I use for the nurse cows,  then fel.  Has to be less than 50" wide at the very max and 70" high.  with the fold down ROL it was okay.  The subcompact has the option of a belly mower, and a front end loader, and will take most other attachments.  Can get a small backhoe or a tiller or bushhog or other things.  They are offering some very good deals now and the last years model would save me 1,000.. ....Quoted price through end of July was 13,000 with the FEL and tiller.  Bushhog was another 1800.  Didn't price it with the belly mower but if I remember it was about the cost of the bushhog and it is a quick connect one that you can ride up on a small set of ramps or something and attach.  I was interested in the fel and the size to fit in the doorway into the barn.   
I have priced a massey also online and came out about the same, in the 13,000 range.   I was at a used equipment dealer, who handles everything in every size you can imagine, and the used JD was over 11,000 and the kubota was 13,000 with fel and backhoe attachment.

All I was trying to get across, is that there are deals, they had some bigger kubotas and the financing packages they are offering are very good.  I think Massey has some to offer.  I know it wouldn't be near enough for what  STA needs for his bush hogging, but they do carry bigger ones.  
If you are not fairly well versed in things "farming" as STA says he is not, going and buying a used machine might not be a good move.

I like the idea of maybe trying to rent a tractor and bushhog and get a feel for what is comfortable.  That way, you could see if you even feel like it is something you could comfortably do.  And get some idea of the different tractors available;  I personally do not like the way some of the hydraulic levers are positioned on some of the tractors, and find I prefer to use certain ones just for those reasons.  Little things that a little use and experience will tell you your own preferences.


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## greybeard

Ever consider a finish mower behind a compact or subcompact instead of a belly deck?


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## Ridgetop

We have 2 tractors.  A small Kubota 2WD that is really not strong enough for our hard soil, but good for moving stuff, and cleaning stalls.  We have a large 4WH tractor which we gave our son which he has used for everything on his new place. He has 5 fairly flat acres and only had the house on it.   He dug all his fence post holes, put in the water lines from the well to the horses and eventual barn site, pulled out a dead tree, plowed up his garden, etc. etc.  He has picked up a ton of attachments for it used and cheap.  DH keeps mentioning bringing it back here, but we are on such steep ground that I don't think it would work here in spite of the 4WH.  That is why DS borrowed it in the first place.  Also DH has a very bad knee and can't really bend it enough to fit comfortably when driving the tractor.  If the tractor turned over he could not jump free in time. 

I like the idea people have put out of renting a couple different tractor makes and models since you can see how comfortable they are for you and how you like driving them.  Renting equipment first is a good way to see if using it is something you want to do before investing beaucoup $$$ in equipment.  Or even if you are going to use it enough to warrant purchase.  With 162 acres you will probably need a tractor and some attachments too.  Also, definitely pursue the lease with the hay farmer for the field.  Then, check into renting a small tractor with brush hog to cut the pasture. If you can't find anywhere to rent a tractor and brush hog, ask the hay farmer and he probably knows someone who sould cut the pasture for a price.  It might be cheaper in time and rental for you, especially if you are worried about driving the tractor and brush hog.  Also see if you can lease out the pasture for grazing.  If you can't find anyone to lease the pasture, look into getting feeder goats, lambs, and pigs into it.  Goats will clear the brush, sheep will graze off the ground weeds, and the hogs will eventually turn up the soil.  If you time it right, you can put them in at different times, then take them to the butcher and have home grown meat in your freezer.  Also check out Premier Supplies.  They sell portable electric net fencing that you can set up to fence in smaller pastures within the large one.  By confining the animals to smaller spaces you make sure that they clear everything inside the fence line.  Then move the fence and have them clear another section.

Sadly, you can't just expect the land to stay beautiful without maintenance.  Cutting or grazing pastures is necessary for pasture health to let the new growth come up, and control brush.  Once you have it under control, you can decide how many animals you will need to keep it healthy. 

Either way, you are going to enjoy living on your farm.  Let's hear no more talk of senile!  You, like the rest of us retired folks, are in your prime!  70 is the new 40!


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> and when my dad was able to leave and started working at the Red River Army Depot (RRAD, then called the Red River Arsenal) in Northeast Texas, he vowed he would never live on a farm again. So we lived in small towns (De Kalb and New Boston). When growing up, my wife also lived in a small town (New Boston), and her dad also worked at RRAD.


How could I have  missed this part of your intro... I never lived there but spent lots of time there in the 50s and 60s visiting, and at least twice, spent a month at a time during the summer and the name forever holds a special place in memory for me and my family. (I, my twin brother and a cousin got caught stealing watermelons from a neighbor's field one summer....didn't end well for us)
Our (wife and I and brother) most recent visit to New Boston was Feb 2017. 
My father's place of birth was Maud Tx, but PawPaw moved the family to just south of New Boston soon thereafter to a little community called Moss Springs which is now on county road 2149.  The springs the community is named for is on my grandfather's place, which a cousin of mine now owns.
My grandparents and most of my father's siblings are buried in Ringwood cemetery on Highway 8 just West of New Boston.
New Boston holds firsts for me.
 First real movie I ever saw was in the old Joy Theater in downtown New Boston and the 1st train I rode was from Houston and got off at the New Boston Depot that is now a museum, called Thee Bostons Museum.
The first fish I ever remember catching was at my grandfather's place and the first chain grocery store I ever went in was the old Piggly Wiggly in New Boston...to me, it seemed huge at the time, which was probably around 1956.
I swore I would never again get into a boat after running trotlines on the Red River one cold stormy night in the late 50s with my father and uncle. A thunderstom blew up, and it poured rain on us while we were way up the river from our launch site, and I shivered the whole way back in a 16' open john boat with several inches of water in the bottom of it.
3 cousins and an uncle of mine still live in or near New Boston, one raising registered Hereford cattle off Hwy 8 just South of New Boston. The uncle, for a couple of decades had a govt contract to trap coyotes, bobcats, fox and raccoons off RRA. They were setting off alarms and tunneling into the ammunition bunkers. I've been on RRA several times as a guest of his as he was running his traps.
Both my parents, most of my uncles and aunts at one time or another, worked at RRA and/or the now closed Lone Star Army Ammunition plant.

Maud btw, is not a real safe place to live or work.
_A total of 117 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Maud, TX_


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## Ridgetop

You know what they say - everyone is only 3 people removed from someone who knows you or your family!  I bet Aggie's and Greybeard's parents must have known each other or had the same friends!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

    I feel so grateful to all of the helpful advice I have received, especially @Bruce , @Latestarter , Miss @Ridgetop , Miss @farmerjan , and @greybeard .  You guys know so much about the farming life, including tractors and other farming equipment.  I am so in awe of what you folks know.  

    I took you folks' advice to rent a tractor and went to the small community of Magazine, which has a dealer for Branson, Kioti, McCormick, and Duetz Fahr.  They did not have any tractors or equipment for rent, nor did they know of anyone who did.  Since Greybeard liked McCormick so well, I priced a McCormick.  The smallest HP tractor they had was over 100 HP with both a front and rear PTO and was $55,000.  I looked at the smallest Kioti they had on the lot that had a cab (I admit it -- I am a wimp and like getting out of the dust if I can).  It was a bit more reasonably priced, since it was a 73 HP, and with a FEL, a mid-grade brush hog/shredder, and a grapple, it was $50,000.  (See here for the description: https://www.hallermotorworx.com/new-models/2018-kioti-rx7320-cab-26652976b ).  I then drove over to Paris, AR, as I thought I remembered there being a farm equipment place there.  But I couldn't find one.  An internet search for a tractor rental place did not find any such place within 50 miles.  I was just IM chatting with a rental place, as they seemed to have a great deal: $2500/mo for a 100 tractor.  But when I asked them where they were, they said they had offices all over -- in Florida!  Oops!  So I will keep looking.

    Greybeard, thanks for telling me about your familiarity with the New Boston area.  About the only folks I meet who knows where that is are those folks who know it is a stop on I-30!  So thanks very much for sharing.  And, yes, Ridgetop, there is a very good chance Greybeard's family members and my and my wife's family member knew each other.  

    For what it is worth, I have been reading a number of posts by many of you members, as I often learn so much that way.  Maybe before I die I will have read all of the posts on this web site!  

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Since Greybeard liked McCormick so well, I priced a McCormick.


Greybeard did not like McCormick, nor dislike it. GB liked Massey Ferguson.


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## Ridgetop

I would put up some notices at the feed store, and other local places with ad boards, advertising that you want someone to brush cut a field.  You might find an ad from someone wanting brush cutting work.  Also check Craigslist for a used tractor, as well as anyone wanting brush cutting work.  Since you have experience working on engines, you would be able to pull maintenance on the engine yourself if you get a used tractor.  Especially good buy if it comes with attachments, and has been taken care of.   Just check to see if you can get parts if it is an off brand.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

greybeard said:


> Greybeard did not like McCormick, nor dislike it. GB liked Massey Ferguson.



  See, I told you folks I was senile!

I will do as you suggested, Miss @Ridgetop.

And now, CALLING ALL BYH MEMEBRS!  Please let me know what kind of tractor each of you has, along with the implements, what you like about them, and what you dislike about them.  That way I can learn from the folks who already know what they are doing!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

You already know how we cleared off our green briars!  I'm not muck for poisons, so we whacked them down with machetes. We have sheep and they eat off any new growth. 

My tractor is s 2320  Kubota. It is 23 horse power, 4 wheel drive, quick connect (I love that) for the implements. 

 Box blade. It is seldom used. If we lived on a dirt road or a long driveway, we could use it to keep the road/driveway in shape.

Bush hog. It is 4' and we have used it a LOT. We mow with it and it is an important piece of equipment.

Front end loader. Can't imagine NOT having it! We have moved a lot of dirt, mulch, horse manure, rocks, anything we could think of. I LOVE IT.

Disc. this has helped in breaking up the garden. It is also good for smoothing out and contouring. 

Forks. These are clamp on type, they clamp on the FEL. Haven't used them much, but they are handy to have for moving various things. I would rather have the type that are an actual implement attached to the tractor, as they are sturdy and the clamp on are not so great.

My tractor is too small for what you would want. It is the perfect size for 8 acres, but sometimes I wish it were bigger.


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## greybeard

Own or have owned Fords x3, 2 different Case tractors, and a Leyland..Ford and Leyland are not available any more. (Ford Ag products was bought out by and merged into New Holland, which itself is or was owned by Fiat and British Leyland stopped selling in this country in the early 90s and has since been bought out by Nuffield Marshall which are also not available here)

Case has merged with International and they make very good tractors..probably my 2nd favorite due to so many service locations and huge parts availability.

Implements? Most of my stuff is old but still serviceable..kinda like me. I do not cut hay so won't be listing any.
8' Modern bush hog.*
6' Modern brand bush hog.*
6' Rhino brand bush hog.*
Howse bushog..I no longer use this 4' mower because the deck finally rusted out.
Double bottom plow.
Single bottom plow.
Several different sets of disc harrows.
Dirt scoop--don't remember the brand.
2 grader blades. a 5' & 6'.
2 Box blades both 6 foot.
Hay forks for 3 pt.
Hay spear for my Case backhoe loader combo.
6' PTO driven power tiller.
Double plow meadow/middle buster plows x 2.
A Dearborn brand 6 row cultivator.
A 5 bushel cone type seed/fertilize spreader Landpride brand. 
330 gal home built herbicide/fertilize sprayer..it will cover a 30' swath.
3 pt post hole auger with a 6" and a 9" auger..I don't remember the brand.
Landpride landscape rake.

If you buy used, worry not about age but about hours.

* been a few years since I needed to use any of the 3pt mowers. Lots cheaper, faster and more effecient to hook onto the sprayer and let the cows do the rest.


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## Ridgetop

This is Ridgetop's DH offering his advice on tractors, since Ridgetop only knows how to run the tractor into the fence.  She was moving dirt downhill in the skip loader (FEL) and the tractor - the smallest Kubota made - only has brakes on the rear wheels.  The tractor wouldn't stop when she tried to brake and instead of dropping the FEL she abandoned ship - or rather tractor.  When I got home she limped out to tell me my tractor was stuck in the fence.  

Our second tractor is a Farmall - 60 or 70 HP - with 4WD and PTO (power take off) and came with a FEL on the front and a back hoe attachment and a gannon with teeth.  It does not have an enclosed cab.I paid $17,000 used with about 100 hours on it.  My son has it on his 5 acres and has bought a post hole attachment, forks, brush hog and a couple other attachments.  He has gotten a lot of use out of it because of the terrain on his property. 

I like both my tractors for different things.  When I bought the Kubota I didn't know much about tractors but wanted something for hauling hay, and mainly clean up, moving manure, etc.  I paid $5,000 for the Kubota which had only a FEL, but has a hookup in back for a gannon.  The person I bought it from used it for dragging his arena with chain link fencing.  The main problem with my little tractor is NO 4WD, and NO PTO.  It is limited in where it can safely go on my steep acres - see paragraph above about DW and fence.  I do *not* recommend this small size for you, especially since there is no PTO or 4WD.  But mainly because it is too small for what you want to do.

The large tractor is really good but you need to get parts from the east coast.  The 4WD and PTO and larger size was my reason for buying it.  That tractor would do everything you want if you can get a used one, especially with some attachments.  Instead of an enclosed cab you can buy a lot of good safety goggles for the extra $35,000! 

I think you need look at different tractors, used and new.  Go to auction yards and shop around.  Sit in various brands and models to judge comfort and ease of use.  Check prices both new and used so you will know a good deal when you see it.  Make sure that the tractor you want or decide to get has 4WD, PTO, easy connect accessories, and low engine hours.  Also make sure that it looks like it has been maintained.  The accessory you need _now_ is a brush hog, if you want to do fencing later get a post hole digger attachment, a gannon for flattening ground, and FEL for moving dirt or loading brush into a dump trailer.

I bought and returned 2 Troy Bilt weed whackers with brush blades last August when I tried to cut the high grass on my aunt's field in Yelm.   Bought in Lacey at the Lowes and got all the attachments because they were on sale and some came free with purchase.  All I wanted to mow was a path to turn my 5th wheel around.  The first one clogged after about 2 hours or 1 tank of fuel.  Then it would not start again so I returned it and got another.  The second one ran fine through 5 tanks of fuel but the next morning it refused to start too.  I took it to a guy who specialized in repairs and he couldn't start it either so I returned it, along with all the attachments - tree trimmer, blower, etc.  He said that the equipment sold at Lowes is lower grade than at  Troy dealer.  It is made for weekend gardeners in tract homes, not farm use.  I got a Stihl this year and am using the special canned gas and have had no trouble.   Hope this helps. 

Consider rabbits for one of your first meat producing animals.  Are you willing to butcher?


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## greybeard

Ridgetop said:


> Troy Bilt


As one of my old shop managers once said: Troy shulda never built a %$*&%^ thing.

My Stihl powerhead I use for both string spool and brush blade was bought in 2008...I do not know how many hours I have on it but it's a lot, and I've abused the heck out of it. Same with the Stihl Farmboss chainsaw I bought in 2007. Cut thru dirt, creosote posts, crossties, big plastic PVC pipe, and everything else over the years and have never even had to change the spark plug. (it does take 3 pulls on the rope now to get it started, 2 on choke and one to run) .
I did buy a new Farmboss a couple years ago as a backup but have hardly ever used it.

For those that don't know a Gannon is a brand name of implements..box blade scrapers mostly.
Skid loader is a bigger tractor with only a front loader and no backhoe on it...called a wheel loader most places.

No tractor has front brakes except the big 200-300-400 hp tractors, usually  with the rubber tracks that go around front and rear tires like the big Challengers. The only way you have any kind of front braking on farm tractors is thru the transmission of a 4wd tractor and then, only if it is actually in 4wd. The front wheel axle is then mechanically locked to  rear wheels which normally is where the brake pads or shoes are located unless the left and right brake pads are made onto the sides of the transmission like Leyland, Case and a few others did theirs. Regardless, there are no shoes or pads actually on the front wheels of most farm tractors...way too dangerous...it would make it too easy to turn one over...they are unforgiving enough as is with just rear brakes.
(there are a (very) few tractors that have a spring activated E brake on the front but I've never worked on one or used one)


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Finally, (@Baymule , you will probably get a kick out of this), how do I deal with green briars? We cleared them out around the gate when we first bought the place. They have started growing back. I sprayed them with glysophate. They must have thought it was fertilizer, because they are continuing to grow like crazy!


Getting back to your greenbrier...
Do they look like this:





The day after you used the glyphosate, did they look like this?



and then this?



and this?



In a couple of weeks, I or  cow will walk by and kick these and they'll break off like a dead stick and they won't be coming back. (the top one, I sprayed today, a couple squirts from a 1 gal garden sprayer with diesel/Remedy mix in it. It's dead....it just don't know it yet.)

You can if you wish and only have a few, snip the vines off at almost ground level, and immediately squirt a little diesel/Remedy mix right on the stump of the vine, or, (if you only have a few), take a knife of some kind, skin back a little of the green shiny bark and spray the same mix on the stem where you removed the outer layer.

My gut feeling tho, is if you have them around your gate, you probably also have a bunch in your 100 acres of pasture as well.
Sooner or later, you'll grow tired of mowing down the same ones over and over..


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, folks, I had planned to respond to these posts in-depth, but you guys are to blame for my not doing so.  "How?" you ask?  Well, it started when early this morning I started reading postings by @greybeard (what a really smart guy he is!), then by Miss @farmerjan (what a really smart lady she is!), then by Miss @Baymule (what a really smart and funny lady she is!), then by @Mike CHS (what a really smart guy he is!) (is this starting to sound familiar?), then by @Latestarter (WARSGHI), then by Miss @Ridgetop (WARSLSI), then by others I read but can't remember (what really smart folks they are).  Next thing I know it is 5:23 PM CDT and time for my Beautiful Gal and I to start reading.  (We finished reading the book "Educated" -- great book -- and so will be starting something new.)  But I promise to reply more in-depth tomorrow.  Thanks so much for you folks helping us out.


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## Ridgetop

I see I have been outed as tractor challenged by DH.  I don't know what gannons are or anything else that goes on the tractor although my DH and sons chat in this mysterious lingo all the time.  That is why* he* wrote the post about what he thought Texas_Aggie should look for.  I do know that steep hills and tractors are *BAD THINGS*!

Maybe I will tell the story later in my journal, after I have received more counseling from my therapist.  It was a traumatic experience.    LOL


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## Latestarter

I think most of us here have had at least one traumatic experience or two. Tends to go with country and "farming".


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## greybeard

Ridgetop said:


> I see I have been outed as tractor challenged by DH.  I don't know what gannons are or anything else that goes on the tractor although my DH and sons chat in this mysterious lingo all the time.  That is why* he* wrote the post about what he thought Texas_Aggie should look for.  I do know that steep hills and tractors are *BAD THINGS*!
> 
> Maybe I will tell the story later in my journal, after I have received more counseling from my therapist.  It was a traumatic experience.    LOL



It sounded pretty minor to me when I read the story, tho I do have to admit I was astonished that anyone would leave the seat of a moving tractor voluntarily..that's normally a big no-no. 
My land is pretty flat and there have been tractor wrecks here at least 3 times in the last 50 years. If you count the time I drove a 50hp Case off into a canal while mowing head high briars and berry vines (that wuzn't my fault) or the time I backed the Leyland and a 6' bush hog off into the pond (that wuz my fault) then there have been 5 tractor' wrecks.  No tractors, animals, or humans were killed or injured in any of these adventures tho 3 of them we were just lucky as heck.
1. The most recent was in 2006, when I was moving a loader bucket full of slushy mud/leaves mix down the road which had a 'maybe' 5° slant off to one side. As I drove  onto the part of the road the angled off to the right side, the slush in the bucket all flowed down to the right side, and before I could lower the bucket, in relatively slow motion, the tractor turned over on it's side. I just pushed in the clutch, pulled the engine kill knob, braced myself against the rops and rode it down. 
2. Sometime in the 90s, my father was digging a small pond with an 8n Ford tractor with dirt scoop of the back of it. He was already down deep, so deep you couldn't see the tractor from ground level and the ramp was too steep for him to get back up, so he put someone else on the 8n, and brought the Case down in the hole and would pull the 8N out with a chain between the 2. That old high axle, tall tired Case had a LOT of torque and could pull a 4 bottom plow and as dad started up the steep embankment, that Case just did a wheelstand, that is, stood up on the rear tires, with that Case emblem and headlights pointed skyward still pulling the 8n forward. Dad hit the brake& clutch pedals, but because the 2 brake pedals weren't locked together, hit only the right brake pedal & instead of the Case falling forward, it fell over on it's left side from a vertical position, and came to rest headed more than 90° from the direction it was originally going. 
3. The old 8n Ford we had in the late 60s was bad about not wanting to start if you shut it off..starter windings would be heat soaked from the engine and that 8V battery just wouldn't crank the engine over, so we frequently had to pull start it with the pickup. It had the Dearborn front loader on it with brush forks on the front instead of a bucket, so to pull the 8n, we ran the chain under the brush fork so when we pulled the 8n forward, the tow chain would lift the forks up and not let them dig into the ground. That old Dearborn loader only had power up, (gravity down) no tilt and would drift down pretty quick if the engine wasn't running which is why we had to run the chain under the forks and get them off the ground to pull start it forward. 
The way the 8n (and all N series) were geared, you had to put it in high gear and tow it pretty fast to get it to turn the engine over fast enough to get it to start. Brother was pull starting dad one day, and probably going 5-7mph when the tractor started with 8n in 4th gear. Ron got off the gas in the truck, the tractor was moving pretty fast, and of course slack got in the chain which let the forks drop down, they impaled themselves into the ground, 8n came to an immediate halt and caused the tractor's back end to come up off the ground and go over the front wheels, which launched my dad out of the seat and into the bed of the pickup all in the blink of an eye. The only time I ever heard dad cuss. I ran over, turned the key off on the now upside down 8n, looked over at my dad who is sitting up among a pile of stuff in the back of the truck and heard him say "What the &(*$%&! just happened?"

Looking back, it's been an adventure here over the last 54 years, and that don't count all the cow wrangling, snake bite, the colt breakings, getting hit by lightning and roping calves on open ground without a horse and all the branding and old fashioned type deworming before we had a real working pen or the bee tree robbing brother and I tried on a bunch of really angry bees in a fallen tree. Been quite a party.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

@greybeard, that was a really laugh out loud funny post!  .  And, yes, Miss @Ridgetop, tell us about the time that you decided to abandon ship -- er, tractor.  I am sure it will be as funny also.  Now to the previous posts on this thread.



Ridgetop said:


> I think you need look at different tractors, used and new. Go to auction yards and shop around. Sit in various brands and models to judge comfort and ease of use. Check prices both new and used so you will know a good deal when you see it. Make sure that the tractor you want or decide to get has 4WD, PTO, easy connect accessories, and low engine hours. Also make sure that it looks like it has been maintained. The accessory you need _now_ is a brush hog, if you want to do fencing later get a post hole digger attachment, a gannon for flattening ground, and FEL for moving dirt or loading brush into a dump trailer.



    Thanks, Mister @Ridgetop.  I will definitely do that.  Several stores in the area have copies of the TractorHouse listings, and I have looked through several issues.  I have also visited the tractorhouse.com web site, but I have been a little intimidated when among the first things I have to do is choose brands, and I don't know a great brand (reliable, parts easily available, etc.) from a bad one.  But I will continue to learn, especially from you knowledgeable folks.



Ridgetop said:


> I bought and returned 2 Troy Bilt weed whackers with brush blades last August





greybeard said:


> As one of my old shop managers once said: Troy shulda never built a %$*&%^ thing.



    I did consider Stihl.  After 40 some-odd years of using electric string trimmers on our different 1/4 acres lots, only to have them fail after a year or two, I decided to get a gas trimmer.  I noticed that a lot of the landscaping and lawn service companies owned Stihls, and after researching them on consumer reports' web site, and saw just how highly rated they were, I decided to buy the most expensive model Stihl had.  It turned out to be a bit more troublesome than I thought it would be.  It was so hard to start, often flooding.  I finally gave up and took it back to the hardware store and told them of my troubles.  The sales guy took it out back and he started it right up.  The magic formula turned out to be pumping the primer bubble exactly three times and then pulling on it while on choke.  When it finally tried to start, then remove the choke and try again.  Then it would start right up.

     We gave away that Stihl, along with just about all of our yard equipment (lawn mower, chain saw, etc.), shortly before I retired, as we were planning to go RVing full-time (a story for another time) once I did retire.  But we ended up buying this place and then I immediately needed some lawn equipment.  The first piece of lawn equipment I bought was a zero turn radius Cub Cadet.  I had never owned a ZTR type mower before, but I thought "How hard can it be to drive one?"  I wish I had a video of my initial efforts.  You could have seen me run into the A/C units outside, the porch steps, but especially the crepe myrtles when I tried to mow under them.  If a limb would get too close, I would tend to pull up on the lever on that side of the mower, which would drive me into the bush.  It's a good thing most of the crepe myrtles had landscaping timbers around them or I would have mowed them down!  So I decided to get both a string trimmer and a push mower to trim around such obstacles.

    I considered buying another Stihl, but I decided to look at 4-cycle trimmers, instead of 2-cycle ones.  I decided to do that as while I once explained to my Beautiful Gal and my niece one time what the differences were between the two, I feared that my Beautiful Gal would forget one time and use ordinary gasoline instead of an oil/gas mix, thus ruining the engine.  There were no 4-cycle Stihl trimmers that I could find, but I did find a large 4-cycle Troy-Bilt trimmer with several different kinds of attachments, so I ended up buying those, along with a Troy-Bilt push mower.  So far, they are holding up pretty well.  We shall see.

    As for 


greybeard said:


> Getting back to your greenbrier...
> Do they look like this:



    I have yet to take any pictures of them but will try to do so later today.  What I can tell you now is that they are green and growing...

    Thanks again to everyone for all of your help regarding tractors.

    Now one more question to you folks.  Over the past few years I have become quite thin-skinned (literally as well as metaphorically).  Yesterday I reached my hand under a chair to retrieve a tow for our cat.  While doing so, I rubbed the top of my left hand against the bottom of the chair.  I didn't think anything about it, as there was no pain.  About 5 minutes later, I happened to look at my left hand, and there was a good bit of blood on it, with part of the skin torn away.  What the ...???  So do you folks know how to keep the skin from thinning out and tearing easily?  Comments, both helpful and humorous, are welcome.

    Well, it is time for me to do my stock market analysis today, which I normally do on Saturday or Sunday, but didn't, because instead you folks made me go read many of your back posts (which is more interesting than doing stock market analysis...)

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Mike CHS

Mine has gotten noticeably thinner in the last 4 or 5 years but of course, I'm those same years older.   

From the web:  The number of new cells you produce decreases slightly. Your body also makes less collagen (which keeps the skin firm) and elastin (which keeps the skin flexible). Also, you lose some of the fatty layer underneath your skin, making the skin seem even thinner. These processes accelerate with a lot of exposure to sunlight. In fact, the ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun destroys collagen and elastin. Use a sunscreen and wear protective clothing to safeguard your skin from the sun’s harmful rays.

I try to wear sunscreen when I'm out for extended periods of time but I don't do it as I should.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> @greybeard, that was a really laugh out loud funny post! . And, yes, Miss @Ridgetop, tell us about the time that you decided to abandon ship -- er, tractor. I am sure it will be as funny also.


Only because no one got hurt! Which is pretty amazing given those stories.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> The magic formula turned out to be pumping the primer bubble exactly three times and then pulling on it while on choke. When it finally tried to start, then remove the choke and try again. Then it would start right up.


That is how my Stihl trimmer works, the chain saw doesn't have a primer bulb. But I think the process is pretty much the same with any small engine with a choke. When you pull and it sounds like it almost starts but doesn't, move the lever to the run position and pull again.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> So do you folks know how to keep the skin from thinning out and tearing easily?


Calfskin gloves?


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

    I decided to see just what the different manufacturers offered in the way of tractors, so I decided to build a tractor on couple of different manufacturing websites.  It didn't take long to get into things where I did not know what the heck they were asking me to choose.  Today, Kubota.

    First, I had to choose the type of tractor.  Looking at the different HP ranges, I chose compact.  Next, I had to choose a model.  I chose L6060 (62 hp).  It came standard with 4wd and hydrostatic transmission.  I then chose the factory installed cab -- I admit it, I am a wimp and hate to be in the heat, but even more so the dust.  I took the default ag tires and high traction lug TL, whatever TL means.  I chose the loader package.  But then came the rear hydraulic choices:

Mounting Base with Valve Kits
+ None
+ 1ST POSITION DOUBLE ACTING VALVE KIT
+ PLUS 3RD POSITION VALVE KIT (CHOICE OF VALVE FOR 2ND & 3RD POSITIONS)
+ PLUS 2ND POSITION VALVE KIT (CHOICE OF VALVE FOR 2ND POSITION) 

I figured rear hydraulics might be for lifting up portions of implements like hay rakes or bat wings on mowers.  I chose the "1ST POSITION DOUBLE ACTING VALVE KIT", though I was not sure what a double acting valve kit was.  I then was presented with the following choice:
*Section 1* -- pick *1* of the following items
+ DOUBLE ACTING VALVE
+ FLOAT DETENT VALVE 

Huh?  What the heck are those two items?  Is a double acting valve like a double agent spy, or maybe like Hayley Mills in the movie _Parent Trap_, where she played the two roles of identical twin sisters?  And is a FLOAT DETENT VALVE a value that has to go to detention for misbehavior?  I chose the double acting valve.

Then came the loader attachment choices.  For the quick coupler I chose the "TWO-LEVER HYDRAULIC QUICK COUPLER & THIRD FUNCTION VALVE" as I knew I also wanted a grapple and would need the third function valve. I also chose the "72" QUICK ATTACH HEAVY DUTY ROUND BACK BUCKET", the "BOLT ON CUTTING EDGE(73" w/11 Holes)", the "42" PALLET FORKS", but no bale spear.

Next came the loader accessories.  When I tried to choose the 3rd function valve kit, the web site told me that it was incompatible with the "TWO-LEVER HYDRAULIC QUICK COUPLER & THIRD FUNCTION VALVE".  Oh, maybe the 3rd function valve and lines are already there.  For the loader hose quick coupler, I had the following choices:

+ None
+ SINGLE LVR VALVE HOSE QUICK COUPLER FOR LOADER (4 HOSES)
+ SINGLE LVR VALVE HOSE QUICK COUPLER FOR LOADER (8 HOSES) 

I assumed that "LVR" meant "lever", but why would I need 4 hoses or 8 hoses?  I would have figured that a third function valve for a grapple would require 2 additional hoses, not 4.  I chose the 8 hose version.  I also chose the "QUICK COUPLER FOR LA805 AND LA1055" and "HYDRAULIC SPILL GUARD FOR LA1055", assuming that one of those loaders would be the one I would buy.

I skipped over all of the backhoe options and the mid-point PTO options, as I don't think I will need any of those right away.

Then for the Dealer Installed options I chose the ones marked with a "+" and skipped the ones marked with an "x":
Draw Bar Kit
+ SWINGING DRAWBAR (is that a drawbar that goes to the honky tonk every night?)
Draw Bar Clevis
+ DRAWBAR CLEVIS
Draft Control Kit
+ DRAFT CONTROL KIT
Top And Tilt Kit
x TOP-N-TILT KIT
High Capacity Alternator
+ HIGH CAPACITY ALTERNATOR KIT
Grille Guard
x FRT GRILL GRD KIT/LA555/LA805/LA1055

When I tried to select the "TOP-N-TILT KIT", the web site whined about my having chosen "1ST POSITION DOUBLE ACTING VALVE KIT" and said I would have to choose one of the other two.  So I didn't choose "TOP-N-TILT KIT".

I didn't choose anything extra for windows or cab accessories (I can play music on my Samsung phone).  I chose the rear worklights.  I chose no snow blowing or plowing attachments, blades, or sweepers.  For attachments, I chose the ones marked with a "+" and omitted the ones marked with an "x":
Ground Pressure Relief
+ GROUND PRESSURE RELIEF
Quick Hitch Coupler
+ COUPLER KIT FOR GL60 TRACTORS  
Quick Hitch
x None
x K1 MANUAL-HITCH
+ K3 AUTO-HITCH 

What the heck is a "GROUND PRESSURE RELIEF"?  Is that a urinal in the cab with a tube that runs to the ground to relief the pressure in the bladder onto the ground?  (If so, I definitely need one of those!)  As indicated above, I chose it.  I also chose the "CLOTH AIR-RIDE SEAT FOR GL60".  I didn't choose any extended warranties.  The final MSRP for the tractor was (drum roll please...)

$69,525.00

Obviously, I need to buy a his and hers model. 

Tomorrow, I will visit the Massey Ferguson web site...

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Mike CHS

I started out that way then called the Kubota dealer in a town near us and told them what I wanted to end up with so they made all of the right choices.  The 1st dealer didn't seem like he wanted to offer me any deals so I called the dealer in the next town over.  He worked out all of the same options and got the tractor for $3,500 cheaper than the first one.  I did try a similar package with Deere but didn't like their attitude either so chose the Kubota with the best deal.


----------



## greybeard

> I chose no snow blowing or plowing attachments, blades, or sweepers.



Ground Pressure Relief valves are for implements used in the front of the tractor..usually a front mounted flail mower, scraper blade, sweeper or snow blower.. It allows some down pressure beyond the weight of the implement but still is terrain following. Those are the only 4  implements that I know of that Kubota recommends needing a GPR for.

If you get a cab tractor, and maybe even if you get an open station tractor, you may want a TnT for the rear. 
I don't know if their kit includes the hoses and hyd cylinders or just the control valve and lever.
TnT replaces the threaded and manually adjusted top link, and the hand crank on the right lift arm with hyd cylinders so you can level or adjust rear implements in both front-to-back and side-to-side planes quickly and easily from the tractor seat..


----------



## Bruce

You lost me way up near the top starting with the valves there STA!

The TnT kit seems quite useful. So does the "3rd function" (follow on video)


----------



## greybeard

My nephew has TnT on a 80hp open seat Kubota and it is nice, especially when hooking up to an implement if the tractor or implement isn't sitting level.
Pretty sure tho, he bought his piecemeal as after market parts   and installed the whole thing himself instead of paying Kubota's price.
I installed several grapples for front loaders--customer bought the grapple and I installed the control valve and hoses. I am NOT at all  a fan of a grapple that fits ON the bucket, tho I did install one for my b-i-l using hyd power from what is known as the Power Beyond port. The sides of the bucket keep you from grabbing much stuff with bucket mounted grapples.
You 'can' plumb in to the return line from your loader valve, running a hose from there to another detented open center control valve, and let that hyd circuit's fluid return thru a Tee at the oil fill port or a plug that is made for that in the transmission housing if one is applicable for your tractor. The downside to that is, you can't use the spool valve you just put on and the loader at the same time, which is why the auxiliary valve has to be springloaded/detented to neutral..the loader's valve has to be able to return thru the center of the new control valve.
You have to use an aux valve that is configured the same as the loader valve tho. If loader control valve is closed center, then the aux valve has to be as well. If loader valve is open center, so must be the aux valve.


----------



## Bruce

For those of us that don't know squat, probably better to let the dealer install all that stuff!


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> For those of us that don't know squat, probably better to let the dealer install all that stuff!


I agree, especially on a tractor that is still under OEM warranty.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks so much, @greybeard, for the explanations.  And thanks especially for the Youtube link.  I found 2 more channels that I hope will explain a lot more about tractors.  I am going to watch those channels and then revisit the Kubota and visit the Massey Ferguson web sites.

I have finally remembered to take a picture of our gate and of @Baymule's favorite plant, namely green briars.  The picture I took is about 2 weeks after spraying them with glysophate.  You can still see the brush piles that we cleared 2 months ago.




 



 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> The picture I took is about 2 weeks after spraying them with glysophate.


----------



## Baymule

Greenbriars! Glad you are eradicating them, it is a process. I hate those things!


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> sey Ferguson web sites.
> 
> I have finally remembered to take a picture of our gate and of @Baymule's favorite plant, namely green briars.  The picture I took is about 2 weeks after spraying them with glysophate.  You can still see the brush piles that we cleared 2 months ago.
> 
> View attachment 50343
> 
> View attachment 50344
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


The greenbrier looks about like I would expect from a glycosphate/water treatment. Slight leaf tip curl and that's the normal extent of it's effectiveness on a shiny, waxy leafed plant like greenbrier.

This is equally troubling if it's what it appears to be. Little locust trees sprouting up.


----------



## Baymule

Could it be sumac?


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I wish I knew what they were.  I just call them bushes or brush.  I see them growing all around the edges of the pastures next to the tree lines.  I will treat them with the Remedy/diesel mix you mentioned in the thread "Making a pasture ... and keeping it managed" (https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/making-a-pasture-and-keeping-it-managed.38164/).  We'll see what happens.

Well, I watched all of the pertinent Youtube videos of "Tractor Tech" and am almost finished with "Messick's Farm and Equipment".  Then I will go back to the Kubota web site to see if it makes more sense...

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I wish I knew what they were. I just call them bushes or brush. I see them growing all around the edges of the pastures next to the tree lines. I will treat them with the Remedy/diesel mix you mentioned in the thread "Making a pasture ... and keeping it managed"


Find out what it is 1st, before using the diesel/Remedy mix.  Do the leaves on the tree that we can see the trunk of look the same as the little plants?


----------



## Baymule

How about a close up picture?


----------



## greybeard

Baymule said:


> How about a close up picture?


If the leaves are variegated, then it's probably an Ash. If the flat surface of the leaves are smooth, then more likely to be a locust of some kind. The tree trunk in the picture tho, doesn't look ribbed enough to be a black locust of that age tree and not smooth enough to be a honey locust........A black locust develops a really rough looking and thick bark.
Could be little walnut trees too.


----------



## AllenK

I will wish my poison ivy immunity on you I am originally from Plano. So we were nearly neighbors.With 160+ acres of Arkansasas turf you will probably need some protection from poison Ivy. I really wish you had my skin that doesn't care.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, I took a picture of one of the bushes at the gate.  What do you folks think it is?


 

I noticed that these same bushes are sprouting up in the pastures.  So I need to find out what they are and get them treated.

I called a tractor rental place a few days ago.  The nearest one was 70 miles away.  I asked them what would it cost to rent a tractor and shredder for a week if I picked it up and returned it.  They quoted $1275.  Ouch!  That would be a little down payment on a new tractor.  They didn't have one available till next week, so I would have a little time to think about it.

This morning I contacted one of our neighbors, as we seemed to recall that he did pasture mowing as a side business.  He did.  He came to our house and I took him around on the Gator and showing him just what he would be battling.  While we rode around, I told him how I had been looking for a tractor to shred the pastures and do the other chores, but I didn't want to rush into things.  After we finished, he said that he would contact me later with an estimate for the mowing/clearing.  Well, later he called and asked if I would like to buy a tractor.  He said he had been thinking about selling his, as it was too big for his 9 acres.  He has a 2004 New Hollard TC48DA open station with a canopywith 355 hours on it.  He has a Rhino SE6 shredder, a box drag that he has never used, a hay spike (that I may never use), fork lifts and loader with bucket (both quick attach), all for $20,000.  I told him I would sleep on it but I think it sounds like a good deal.  What do you folks think?

BTW, the truck thermometer had 114F, the thermometer on the porch has 112.  I think I did not escape the Texas heat. 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Mike CHS

That is a pretty decent price, especially if it has been maintained the way it should have been.


----------



## AllenK

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Well, I took a picture of one of the bushes at the gate.  What do you folks think it is?View attachment 50444
> 
> I noticed that these same bushes are sprouting up in the pastures.  So I need to find out what they are and get them treated.
> 
> I called a tractor rental place a few days ago.  The nearest one was 70 miles away.  I asked them what would it cost to rent a tractor and shredder for a week if I picked it up and returned it.  They quoted $1275.  Ouch!  That would be a little down payment on a new tractor.  They didn't have one available till next week, so I would have a little time to think about it.
> 
> This morning I contacted one of our neighbors, as we seemed to recall that he did pasture mowing as a side business.  He did.  He came to our house and I took him around on the Gator and showing him just what he would be battling.  While we rode around, I told him how I had been looking for a tractor to shred the pastures and do the other chores, but I didn't want to rush into things.  After we finished, he said that he would contact me later with an estimate for the mowing/clearing.  Well, later he called and asked if I would like to buy a tractor.  He said he had been thinking about selling his, as it was too big for his 9 acres.  He has a 2004 New Hollard TC48DA open station with a canopywith 355 hours on it.  He has a Rhino SE6 shredder, a box drag that he has never used, a hay spike (that I may never use), fork lifts and loader with bucket (both quick attach), all for $20,000.  I told him I would sleep on it but I think it sounds like a good deal.  What do you folks think?
> 
> BTW, the truck thermometer had 114F, the thermometer on the porch has 112.  I think I did not escape the Texas heat.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


I can only say it doesn't look like Jimson weed. So that is a plus. We have that stuff all over the place down here in coastal Texas. Bad juju for animals. As crazy as this sounds it reminds me of a peach tree.


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Rhino SE6 shredder



I have had that same mower. It's a tough one for sure. Took everything I threw at it and everything my b-i-l has so far.

Is the New Holland 2 or 4wd?
For just the tractor and that many hours, it appears to be above average price.  With the implements included, it's a little better price IF it has had the maintenance done on it. The big plus is the low hours (if the hourmeter is accurate and still working) 355 hrs is equivalent to being used for 44 days at 8 hrs each day.  That isn't much use.
https://www.tractorbluebook.com/Tractor-Blue-Book/New-Holland-Ford/TC48DA-4WD

https://www.machinerypete.com/details/40-99-hp/2006/new-holland/tc48da/19523161

https://www.machinerypete.com/details/40-99-hp/2006/new-holland/tc48da/19534383

https://www.machinerypete.com/details/40-99-hp/2006/new-holland/tc48da/19552997

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/new-holland-buying-pricing/165221-new-holland-2004-tc-48-a.html


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## greybeard

The plant in question....the leaves are wider than they looked in the other picture.
 looks like a walnut of some kind or maybe a hickory


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Sorry I forgot to mention that it is a 4WD.

I will spray the mystery bush with diesel only and see what happens.

Thanks, everyone.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

The tractor bluebook lists that tractor at just under $20K, doesn't specify hours. $20K seems a pretty good price with all the implements, assuming as @greybeard said, that everything has been well maintained. 

Any way to have someone look everything over? You might be a new tractor owner soon!


----------



## Bruce

Baymule said:


> Could it be sumac?


Looks like it could be. From Google search:


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Sorry I forgot to mention that it is a 4WD.
> 
> I will spray the mystery bush with diesel only and see what happens.
> 
> Thanks, everyone.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie



I know what will likely happen. The leaves will turn dark, dry up, fall off and the root system will endure and next spring the same plant will return in glorious foliage. Diesel alone will knock all the leaves off most plants but will not kill the root system of most perennials.


----------



## Baymule

Look around for a bigger plant with the same leaves. It looks like sumac, in the fall, sumac has red berries on it. For that many small plants, there has to be big plants spreading seeds.

Here is a thread about sumac and it has pictures too.

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/she-got-me-a-sumac-start.17293/


----------



## Bruce

I know sumac is a bear to get rid of.


----------



## greybeard

Baymule said:


> Look around for a bigger plant with the same leaves. It looks like sumac, in the fall, sumac has red berries on it. For that many small plants, there has to be big plants spreading seeds.
> 
> Here is a thread about sumac and it has pictures too.
> 
> https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/she-got-me-a-sumac-start.17293/



The pictures tell the story.
Baymule's picture from the above link:




SenileAggie's picture:




Baymule's Sumac plant has jagged edges on every leaf. So do the leaves on the Sumac picture Bruce posted.

Senile Aggie's plant does not appear to have the same serrated edge leaf, and to me, Senile Aggie's plant has leaves that are more shiny and waxy looking than the leaves of Sumac. Might still be a Sumac but sure doesn't look like the same variety.

Tree of Heaven? Look for the node on each leaf base.


https://www.nybg.org/files/scientists/rnaczi/Mistaken_Identity_Final.pdf


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Maybe this closeup of a leaf from a smaller shrub in the field (that resembles the shrub at the gate) will help better.



 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

Difficult to say..
Most nut bearing trees have leaves, that when rubbed between your palms have a pecan-like odor..the hickories and pignuts and wild pecan leaves. Summac leaves are reputed to smell "like rancid peanut butter" tho I have to admit I've never been around any rancid peanut butter.


----------



## Latestarter

Bottom line, you don't want/need it in your pasture, so eradication methods are mandatory... You can shred it for the time being, then spray for unwanted growth down the line as you work to improve the pasture overall.


----------



## Baymule

If it is sumac, it spreads by roots that seem to run for miles, splitting off in all directions.


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Maybe this closeup of a leaf from a smaller shrub in the field (that resembles the shrub at the gate) will help better.
> 
> View attachment 50486
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie



Not sure what that is, but it looks shorter than the ones hanging off the plant in the other picture you posted.

I rode around on the 4wheeler this afternoon and took some pics of trees and leaves that I know for sure what are. This may take more than one reply as I took quite a few pictures.

Mature pignut hickory: (the raised bumps on the leaves are from some kind of sucking insect) 



 
Daughter from nuts dropped from the same tree..there were lots of this size but I sprayed most several weeks ago:


 

Trunk of the mature tree:


 

Juvenile Burkett pecan...more or less, a native Texas pecan tree, that also grows all over the South:


 

The parent of the juvenile that is pictured above:


----------



## greybeard

Leaves and nuts (far center right) of the tree last pictured in previous reply:


 

Closeup of the pecan stem & leaves:


 

I had to go to my sister's place next door to get these...got rid of all mine several years ago with one spraying..Baymule's favorite..young Honey locust:


 

A mature and flowering honey locust, and probably the source of all the small ones:


----------



## greybeard

Part of the grove of honey locust that have sprung up from suckers around the larger one:


 

Why honey locust is despised and why I killed with malice and without reserve, every one on my property:


 

A real Chinaberry growing on the ROW next to National Forest, (Melia azedarach) not to be confused with Chinese Tallow, not that the Chinaberry is any less invasive than it's near name:


 
A Chinaberry I pushed down last year with the tractor and shoved it about 50' up the ROW and left the roots intact. It has re-rooted and is growing just fine.......horizontally:


----------



## greybeard

A couple of small Chinese Tallow trees along a waterway, that I hacked with a hatchet a couple of weeks ago and squirted a couple oz of Remedy/Diesel into the cuts. It wasn't the best time to do it, very hot and had been a couple weeks since rain, so the trees probably weren't moving much thru the vascular system, but I was down there anyway killing greenbrier
(All the illustrations of a frill of 'hack and squirt' process show nice neat straight cuts, all the same size and length. The real world is quite different. I did not tho, intentionally make cuts one above the other...I'm old and the hatchet gets heavy)
The cuts:
















results:




A small cedar I sprayed the same day with Remedy/Sendero/water mix..I'm not sure this is going to kill the roots but since I had some Sendero left I thought I would try it.:




A product called Tordon22 works just as well as Remedy to kill woody invasives and it won't kill grass either, but you will need an applicator's lic to buy it in any volume un-mixed but you can buy it as Tordon RTU (ready to use) by the qts, and they'll sell you as many qts as your wallet can handle. go figure. (I killed a LOT of big Tallow trees with Tordon but I won't use it anywhere close to water.)

And just because......At the tree line behind the cattle is where the honey locust are. Just a barb wire fence to stop them thorny plants...and a bit of experience how to handle them.  They don't get to come on my side of the fence...ever.




Taken 30 minutes earlier before all the cows moved close to the yard and from 90deg off where the other pic was taken:


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

    I have a few more pictures of the mystery shrub that is growing near the gate.

First, the leaves and trunk of a tree growing near the gate very close to the mystery bush.  I don't think it is the same, but it may be.






 

Next, pictures of the leaves and "trunk" of a bush that is almost certainly the same as the mystery bush.


 



 

    Another thing that happened yesterday is that my neighbor finally had an opening in his schedule for me to go get his tractor and implements.  So now I am the proud owner of a New Holland TC48DA 4wd tractor and several implements.  Watch out, farm, cause here I come!  

    Finally, I am asking for a bit of advise.  The tractor and 3-point implements hitch directly to the 3-point hitch.  So I am considering buy either a quick hitch or Pat's Easy change?  What are you folks' opinion on those systems versus connecting directly to the 3-point hitch?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Congratulations on your new tractor!


----------



## greybeard

I've never used either of those hitch options on my tractors. 

B-I-L has a Pat's on his Kubota 3pt. Hopefully they have improved since he bought his several years ago. The bolt and lock nuts on the sides that are supposed to keep it straight with the arm never would, meaning the quick hitch set a little off at an angle and you usually had to get off the tractor and shove the implement over a couple degrees. The other problem was, because Pat's effectively make the 2 lift arms longer, his PTO shaft for 2 of his implements were now too short.  Seems to be a common problem if you read the reviews on Tractorbynet.

My nearest neighbor has the quick hitch that incorporates the 3rd claw that sits aft of the top link. If you go this route, make sure you get one with the  3-4-5-6 holes at the top so you can adjust that upper hook. Not all implements are the same, and he's had trouble switching from box blade to mower and has had to chain the top mount yoke of his mower to the quick hitch because the top hook would only partially engaged the top of the implement. (examples do not constitute endorsement or criticism of any particular brand)
Like this:




as opposed to this:


----------



## frustratedearthmother

My problem is getting the shaft of the mower hooked up to the PTO.  (hope I said that right)   I found this and am wondering if anyone has used one or has an opinion.  I can hook up other stuff after only a small struggle and a few words if they don't run off the PTO - but that shaft is a booger!

https://tractorptolink.com/shop/?v=7516fd43adaa


----------



## greybeard

frustratedearthmother said:


> My problem is getting the shaft of the mower hooked up to the PTO.  (hope I said that right)   I found this and am wondering if anyone has used one or has an opinion.  I can hook up other stuff after only a small struggle and a few words if they don't run off the PTO - but that shaft is a booger!
> 
> https://tractorptolink.com/shop/?v=7516fd43adaa


I can fight lots of sticky PTO shafts for $400.

Some comments about the product:
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/386320-pto-link-easy-pto-adapter.html


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## frustratedearthmother

It is pricey!  My son might pay for it just so I'll stop calling him to come do it for me, lol!


----------



## Ridgetop

Yes, Greybeard, I know I did an unwise thing by abandoning tractor.  However, I remembered my husband's story of a relative who died in a tractor turnover and my children were still young.  I was lucky to get clear. 
I am learning a lot about tractors on this site.  I would be happy about this if I understood any of it.    I want my DH to come in and sit with me as I go through this so he can translate some of this to me.  He is currently running a log splitter to get rid of the tree that fell on our house in January.  Refuses to sit and translate for me.   

DH rented this log splitter for about $100.  He wanted to buy one but I prevailed on him to just_ rent_ first.  Now he will probably want to add it to his list of tools (I call them toys).    I think we may need to move just to accommodate his tractor and large agricultural tool fascination, and have the flat acreage for him to enjoy using them.  We have additional dead fall wood needing splitting in Yelm. Not to mention the dead cedar/pine in the home sheep pasture that we need to take down.  We plan to haul this entire tree (now cut and spit) to my sister in Washington since she and her husband are currently heating with their fireplace.  Ran out of heating oil over the winter and no money to buy more.  We got them through with wood we had that we took up in January, but this tree will keep them going for another year. 

DH was able to rent and use a wood splitter on this - yay for technology as we get older!  Time was he used an axe, a wedge, and doublejack to split our wood.  Ooooh, he was young and very sexy swinging that axe!     LOL  He used to get giant logs from people that didn't want to be bothered splitting them or hauling them off, and bring them home for firewood.  In fact I have a picture of DD1, age 12, in Yelm splitting logs for her great aunt with a wedge and doublejack! 
We were young, eager, and could do anything then, now we are old, decrepite  , knowing a lot more, LOL, and still enjoying life!


----------



## Ridgetop

My ambition has now grown to learn about tractors and operate them properly.


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## Latestarter

Congrats on your new farm tool! I'm sure that once you have a few hours under your belt and learn the intricacies, you'll be a devout tractor fan. I will admit that I am slightly envious... Now you'll need to get a 500 gallon diesel tank for your farm and schedule a delivery so you'll be able to fuel the tractor. Or, I guess you could do multiple 5 gallon containers in the pick up bed. At least diesel doesn't go bad like gas and will keep for 10 years or so. Just need to use a filter/separator - water trap to make sure and not get any water in the tractor.


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## greybeard

Truckbed transfer tank is what most of us use.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/catalog/fuel-transfer-tanks


----------



## Mike CHS

I have the  Pat's on my Kubota and it works with my equipment with no issues but like GB said, I have to dismount to get everything lined up. 

What kind of trouble are you having with the PTO shaft?


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Mike CHS said:


> What kind of trouble are you having with the PTO shaft?


I just can't get it ...I try to line it up...I try to get it to slide forward enough and I just can't get it to slip over that little protruding knobby thing.  Maybe I need to clean it all off and re-grease/lubricate everything...I dunno.  Maybe I just need more muscle, lol.


----------



## Mike CHS

I think that one is like the one I have.  You have to pull back on the collar at the end of the shaft as you are pushing it on.  You will hear a click as you go past the balls.  That and lots of grease will be you friend.


----------



## greybeard

frustratedearthmother...view the post at this link and tell us which kind you have. Some have a pin you push. Some have a collar you twist. Others have a collar you slide toward the mower.
https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...ripes-and-grumbles.33505/page-294#post-512051


----------



## Baymule

The tree is an Elm. The mystery plants are sumac.


----------



## Mini Horses

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> So do you folks know how to keep the skin from thinning out and tearing easily? Comments, both helpful and humorous, are welcome.



Only way is to find the fountain of youth and get younger.   I'm 72 & I swear that I can just bump into things and get a skin peel.   OK, I'm not a heavy weight, so losing collagen is major for me.  But, life is what it is!  I've considered long sleeves but, even then I get the scrapes.  My arms look like I've been in a fight with a knife.  Carry napkins & band aids.



frustratedearthmother said:


> Maybe I just need more muscle, lol.



YES!!!  1/2 of my problem is that -- muscle to push, pull, etc. when attaching implements.   The backhoe is the EASIEST thing for me to off/on.   Bush hog -- never been able to connect up but, can get it off!

OK  -- when I bought my tractor I called and said "bring me one with backhoe & front end loader!"   I had sorta/kinda research various brands and I bought a Branson.  I love it.  Plus, red is my fav color!  A compact but all I need.  It will probably be the only one I ever buy.   Not doing anything that is "heavy" for most owners.  There are things I think I want/need that are only in my dreams.  I'm good with what I have and it works great.    It's a little like a garden for those "non-serious" hobby farmers....we want everything but, don't need it!!  If I need heavier, I can hire it for that one time need.


----------



## Bruce

Ridgetop said:


> We plan to haul this entire tree (now cut and spit) to my sister in Washington since she and her husband are currently heating with their fireplace.


Cedar? Wouldn't they prefer something that burns longer like maple or oak or eucalyptus?
Long way to haul wood.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> So now I am the proud owner of a New Holland TC48DA 4wd tractor and several implements.



Good deal!! Now you get to learn how to use all the levers 


Latestarter said:


> I will admit that I am slightly envious...


You aren't the only one bud!


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Cedar? Wouldn't they prefer something that burns longer like maple or oak or eucalyptus?
> Long way to haul wood.


Cedar usually spits and crackles too, throwing sparks everywhere. It does burn hot tho, and if the chunks are large, might last awhile.

(my brother used to haul oak from here to Central Arkansas for his stepdaughter and her husband to burn but only because it was here, free, already on the ground, seasoned, and he was going that way anyhow)


----------



## Ridgetop

_


Bruce said:



			Cedar? Wouldn't they prefer something that burns longer like maple or oak or eucalyptus?
Long way to haul wood.
		
Click to expand...

_
Beggars can't be choosers!  What we got is what they get! 
_1.  We got this type of wood (I think it's an ash tree)
2.  They need firewood
3.  They have no money for heating oil
4.  We are going to Washington State anyway and pulling our stock trailer half empty
5.  They are lucky DH rented a log splitter and he, DS1 and DS2 spent all day (109 degrees) splitting it for them.
6.  When we get there, DH and I will have to unload and stack the wood for her
7.  We will be lucky if my sister has cleared a spot for us to stack it onto
OBJECT:  Get in - Unload - Get Out!
_

_


greybeard said:



			Cedar usually spits and crackles too, throwing sparks everywhere. It does burn hot tho, and if the chunks are large, might last awhile.

(my brother used to haul oak from here to Central Arkansas for his stepdaughter and her husband to burn but only because it was here, free, already on the ground, seasoned, and he was going that way anyhow)
		
Click to expand...

_
Also, what Graybeard said!_ 

_


----------



## Bruce

Um, are there Emerald Ash Borers in CA?? _*If so do NOT take the wood with you*_. Burn it where it is.


----------



## Ridgetop

Don't think so.  It's have been growing here since the 1950's.  90 mph winds took it down last winter because we have had no water for years and are not allowed to water any landscaping.


----------



## Ridgetop

Not allowed to burn anything here.  This is where the Creek Fire took out homes, horses, lives, last year.  High burn danger here.


----------



## Bruce

Ridgetop said:


> Don't think so.


Check, it may be illegal to move ash. We now have them in VT, didn't until this year. Most likely some idiot brought ash with them for camp fire wood to save a couple of bucks. Thanks. We will now eventually lose all the ash trees in the state as they spread.


----------



## goatgurl

hey neighbor, @Devonviolet told me that I had a new neighbor on byh and to check you out.  sure enough you and your bride live about 45 min. north and east of me.  I live just on the ark, okla line if you follow 96 highway.  I remember seeing someone saying they were new in western Arkansas but I didn't have a clue where so nice to meet youall.  i'm not on here as much as I used to be so somehow missed seeing you.  
I live on a little 60 acre place with a few goats, a few sheep, chickens, ducks and rabbits.  and the dogs, I have an 14 year old mutt puppy, a 4 year old English shepherd, and a pair of maremma livestock guardian dogs.  and I can't forget the bulldog.  I am babysitting my granddog, an English bulldog, till my daughter can get her moved to Washington state with them.  heres hoping tis soon.
  I sure wish I had seen your posts sooner, I could have helped point you to tractor dealerships in the area.  there are several just across the boarder in Oklahoma.  moot point now.  @Baymule is right, your mystery bush is a sumac, pretty much a pest, don't grow big enough to mess with but can sure take over a pasture if you let them.  their only saving grace is that they are a pretty red color in the fall and the berries make a good lemonade substitute .  oh and the birds like the berries too.  that's why you see them growing all over.  deposited complete with a touch of fertilizer to grow freely.  might want to check them out on the web, there
 is one kind of sumac that causes a contact dermatitis sort of like poison ivy. 
  welcome to the area, hope you like it here.  I think you'll find it a lot more laid back than a lot of texas.  may take some taking use to.  if you need things for the farm I would suggest you check with the area co-ops, you'll find a lot more help thru them then you will at tractor supply in greenwood.  give me a yell if I can help point you to places around here.
  again welcome to Arkansas and welcome to back yard herds.  there are a lot of nice helpful folks on this site as you have already found out.  I look forward to following your adventures.


----------



## Devonviolet

Welcome to BYH!     Senile.  So nice to have you join us.

You have a wonderful journey ahead of you!  Albeit lots of work.  It definitely isn’t for the lazy or faint of heart.  

You have already gotten some excellent advise.  Just keep asking questions.  We have some amazing homesteading people here on BYH!  Some of the best have already chimed in.  I don’t have much to add, except one of our awesome goat people (goatgurl) has some awesome goats, when you are ready to buy.  I was blessed to be able to buy two of them.  She raises LaManchas, which are wonderful dairy goats.  You can’t go wrong with LaManchas.  

When you are getting more serious about getting livestock (goats), you should seriously consider at least two LGDs.  Goatgurl has two Maremmas, which is what we have.  She and I are in agreement, that Maremmas are amazing LGDs.  Goatgurl has been known to breed her two.  The puppies go fast when she does, although I’m not sure if she is planning to breed them again.

Now would really be a good time to start looking into getting a couple LGDs, although its a good idea to have at least a couple animals, when you do get them, so they can begin training on guarding animals right away.

Well, tomorrow we are setting up our booth at farmers market, so I had better hit the hay.  Morning comes WAY too early!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks so much, Miss @goatgurl and Miss @Devonviolet, for your encouraging posts and for welcoming us to BYH.  My wife and I have been looking for some dogs but have yet to find any.  I have been more focused on getting the place in better shape, with the back pastures and the pond being overgrown.  Eventually we think we will get some goats, as that has been a dream of my wife's now for several years.  So we will probably reach out to you two and the others on this forum when the time comes.  Our problem right now is that we have no fencing worth a crap, nor do we have a livestock building to help protect them from the rain, predators, etc.  Once we get all of that figured out, then we will see about getting some goats.

All,
    Yesterday was an expensive day for mowing the pasture and around trees.  Early yesterday I decided to cut down all of the overgrowth around 3 trees at the back of the pond.  I knew I would need my lopping shears, my hedge trimmer, and my reciprocating saw.  Not having a place to put my tools on the tractor, I decided to put the tools in the front end loader bucket.  I had a Dewalt 5-tool set and some extra batteries in a handy tote bag, I decided to bring the entire bag, carrying it and the lopping shears in the FEL bucket.  I then went to the pond and proceeded to clear out the brush and small trees from around the 3 big trees.  Once I finished, I then mowed around the grassy sides of the pond.  Once I finished with that, I decided move the dead brush pile from in front of the pond to around the side.  Forgetting that I had tools in the bucket, I leveled the bucket and lowered the FEL to the ground and pushed the front-most brush pile to where one of the other brush piles was.  Then I forgot to tilt the bucket back, so that it still pointing down a bit.  I saw some tall Johnson grass near the pond and decided to mow that down.  While going through the grass, I ran through a hole that caused the front end of the tractor to bounce.  Soon after that happened, I heard an awful racket coming from the brush hog.  I stopped the tractor and looked back.  That's when I saw the Dewalt tote bag torn to pieces.  Then I realized what had happened.  The tools that survived the shredding unscathed were the reciprocating saw and battery, the hedge trimmer, and an extra battery.  Completely shredded to bits were the hammer drill, the impact wrench, the circular saw, and a light.  The lopping shears were nowhere in sight (I suspect they fell out at the brush pile).  So $400 worth of tools was lost because of my forgetfulness!    I guess I will need to make me a place on the ROPS to carry tools, otherwise mowing pastures could get quite expensive.

    After that expensive mishap, I decided to take a break.  Once I finished the break I decided that it was time to mow the overgrown back pastures.  The grass and weeds were so thick that in places I had to use the lowest possible gear to keep the mower from chocking!  I had hoped to get at least half of it done, but I was only able to make 3 passes through the pasture before I ran low on diesel fuel and had to stop.

    So thanks to my Senile Texas Aggie I/Q, I managed to tear up $400 worth of tools and only got a small part of the overgrown pastures mowed.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## frustratedearthmother

That is a tough lesson learned - and most likely will NOT be repeated.  Those really hard lessons seem to stick with you - like walking into an electric fence.  (don't ask me how I know!)   Good luck with the rest of your adventure!


----------



## Latestarter

All in good time. We've all done "stupid" things/made mistakes/forgotten important stuff that has ended up costing valuable dollars but in the end, I guess they are valuable lessons. I wouldn't be too concerned with the "time" factor involved with doing all that you're doing. You are learning as you go, and you'll find it's easy to underestimate the amount of work really involved. Sorry about the financial loss though. Congrats on getting started with your new toys... ummm I mean machine/tools (tractor)!


----------



## Bruce

Devonviolet said:


> except one of our awesome goat people (goatgurl) has some awesome goats, when you are ready to buy.


They are very good from removing hoop shelters, just ask @Latestarter



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> So thanks to my Senile Texas Aggie I/Q, I managed to tear up $400 worth of tools and only got a small part of the overgrown pastures mowed.


Good plan, get the screw ups out of the way right off! 
Sorry you lost the tools, hopefully they didn't also damage the hog.


----------



## Mike CHS

I use the FEL to carry a bout everything but it's easy to forget you have things in there.  If I'm using it to transport something I make it a point to take whatever it is to wherever it's going to be used and dump it.

That being said I have dropped all kinds of things from the bucket until I finally got in the habit of not letting myself get side tracked until whatever is in the bucket is dropped where needed.


----------



## greybeard

Worst bucket fiasco I had was when my brother dropped me out of the backhoe bucket from about 12' up, with a running chainsaw in my hands. (pushed the lever instead of pulling it) I was already in my early 60s but a still a lot more spry than I am now.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Wow - that could have ended badly!  Worst thing I did was drop a dead pig outta the bucket lol.  Turns out it wasn't even me - the valve or something like that wasn't working right and the bucket tipped down every time it had a weight in it.  But, I dropped that pig 3 times before I figured it out!


----------



## Baymule

I had to smile reading that. I haven't dumped and ran over tools, but we have all had our mishaps. Nothing makes you feel stupid like doing something stupid.  You'll make mistakes, but you won't make THAT mistake again.


----------



## farmerjan

Sorry to read about the tools in the bucket disaster.  We have all done something very stupid and forgetful.  The important thing is;  yes it is money but it was not a human or animal life lost or damaged.  GB's was close enough to horrible disaster for me to read.  You will probably NEVER make that mistake again,  and you will figure out some way to remind yourself that there is something in it.  We are forever losing chains, bouncing out of a bucket when we have gone to pull something.  Or the chain saw or something, it happens.  Do like Mike and when you get to where you are planning  to work, make it a habit to remove anything in the bucket before you do anything else.... you will figure out the best way to establish a routine and once you do, it will become automatic.  

None of us has the money to throw away on lost or damaged tools, but it was not the biggest disaster.  You will replace them as you go along at an auction or something.  
I was afraid you were going to say you drove the tractor in the pond or flipped it over on the bank or something.


----------



## Mike CHS

One of the good things about this forum is that we have shared experiences and all make blunders.  Since many of us post about those blunders it is pretty obvious we can share those things with others and still smile about it.


----------



## Bruce

farmerjan said:


> I was afraid you were going to say you drove the tractor in the pond or flipped it over on the bank or something.


Me too. So I guess losing $400 in tools was a pretty good "alternate screwup".

I once got my garden tractor too close to the pond facing it. "tractor" has turf tires, no grip in reverse up any sort of a hill, spins a tire and goes nowhere. I had to pull it out with my Prius (aka my 'truck').


----------



## goatgurl

when you said comic relief I didn't realize that you were boing to be destroying tools for fun.  I grinned at your description but i'm really sorry that happened to you and all those power tools.  as the others have said, lesson learned.  just don't be like @Mike CHS and learn the same lesson over and again.  his dog now has to guard him from the electric fence.
hope youall got some of that rain that came thru today, we've been needing it.


----------



## Devonviolet

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Our problem right now is    that we have no fencing worth a crap, nor do we have a livestock building to help protect them from the rain, predators, etc. Once we get all of that figured out, then we will see about getting some goats.


Ah yes!  Two major requirements for having animals on a farm . . . Shelters and fencing.  Many here (DH and I included) have started simple with hoop huts and 16’ cattle panels, for temporary fencing. @Latestarted did that too.

We recently added a small goat pasture to our little 5 acre property, using about 14 or 16 cattle panels. This area will eventually be enlarged with woven wire, no-climb horse fencing, when we have time and energy. Oh, who am I kidding!  It will probably be a while. Both of those are in very short supply!!!  

Here are the dogs walking the perimeter when we first opened it up to the goat paddock. They are such good LGDs!









Our place came with a 3-sided run-in shelter, which we put a floor in, to give the goats and dogs a dry place out of the weather.  One of our first projects was to build an 8x8’ hoop hut, using 2x4s and 2 cattle panels lashed together. A wire wall on the back, and a door on the front gave us a secure dog kennel. The nice thing about it is, that it is portable. Right now, we are using it as a shelter for our buckling.








Here we have it covered with a tarp, for our little Myotonic buckling, Danny Boy, when we first got him.  We added decking in about 2/3 of the hut, so he would have a dry floor to sleep on. 




Here is a little hut, we call, "The Mini-Hoopster",  that DH built so we could move the ducklings from the barn to the chicken yard.  We’ve used it for several birds since the ducklings first used it.









Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> So thanks to my Senile Texas Aggie I/Q, I managed to tear up $400 worth of tools and only got a small part of the overgrown pastures mowed.





frustratedearthmother said:


> That is a tough lesson learned - and most likely will NOT be repeated. Those really hard lessons seem to stick with you - like walking into an electric fence. (don't ask me how I know!) Good luck with the rest of your adventure!





Latestarter said:


> We've all done "stupid" things/made mistakes/forgotten im
> portant stuff that has ended up costing valuable dollars but in the end, I guess they are valuable lessons.





Baymule said:


> Nothing makes you feel stupid like doing something stupid.  You'll make mistakes, but you won't make THAT mistake again.


As you can see, we all made expensive mistakes and/or done things we wish we hadn't. DH says the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. So, hopefully, you are only senile and not insane.


----------



## Bruce

You and DH do good work DV.


----------



## Devonviolet

Bruce said:


> You and DH do good work DV.


Awww, thanks Bruce.  It has been a work in progress.  Sometimes DH gets frustrated, feeling like the to do list is so long and we aren’t accomplishing anything.   But then I start pointing out everything we have done, and he agrees that we HAVE gotten a lot done, in the 3-1/2 years we have been here.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks so much to each and every one of you to offer words of encouragement after my stupid deed.  And, yes, I am very glad I did not do something a lot worse, like run the tractor into the pond, or turn it over, or run over my foot or leg.

Thanks especially to Miss @Devonviolet for the pictures you provided.  It will give us some ideas once we finally start to get ready for some goats and ducks and maybe chickens.  I am sure that we will be reaching out to you, Miss @goatgurl, and others, for help in learning what we need to do.

As Miss @goatgurl mentioned, just like her we got some rain yesterday morning, but not enough to do much but settle the dust.  After it stopped, I decided to tackle the south pasture (the one I took two pictures of recently; see https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...relief-for-the-rest-of-you.38161/#post-559866) with the tractor and mower.  It was slow going, as the grass was really thick.  I usually had to run in 1st or 2nd gear to prevent the shredder from bogging down.  I had wanted to finish the area I was mowing before the end of the day, but I ran out of diesel before then.  The reason I wanted to finish?  I wanted to be able to post updated pictures showing a complete before-and-after.  I went back this morning to finish the area, but it started raining again before I finished.  So, Miss @farmerjan, you may still need to take some antacid before viewing the pictures, but hopefully not as much as before!

Where I mowed yesterday (blue area) and tried to mow today (red area):




Here is what the blue area looked like, viewing from the northwest corner looking east:




Here is what the blue and red areas looked like yesterday afternoon, viewed from the northwest corner looking south (Miss @farmerjan, please take your antacid before viewing the picture):




Again, thank you to each and every one of you for reading and commenting on our journey from suburbanites to farmers:


 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Dude, you missed a tree! 

Looks great, don't know why Jan would get heartburn from looking at the results! I'm guessing you are finding your "new" tractor to be quite useful ... and fun!


----------



## greybeard

frustratedearthmother said:


> Wow - that could have ended badly!  Worst thing I did was drop a dead pig outta the bucket lol.  Turns out it wasn't even me - the valve or something like that wasn't working right and the bucket tipped down every time it had a weight in it.  But, I dropped that pig 3 times before I figured it out!


Which is why I NEVER let anyone ride in the bucket if the tractor is moving. I worked on & repaired too many FELs to not know how suddenly a cylinder piston seal or control valve spool can fail, or a hydraulic line burst.


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> After it stopped, I decided to tackle the south pasture (the one I took two pictures of recently; see https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...relief-for-the-rest-of-you.38161/#post-559866) with the tractor and mower. It was slow going, as the grass was really thick. I usually had to run in 1st or 2nd gear to prevent the shredder from bogging down.



A couple of things. 
1. Bogging the mower down is troublesome for sure, but even more so, make sure you aren't bogging the tractor engine down either. If the exhaust is constantly blowing  black smoke while mowing, it means the engine is overloaded. Watch for unexplained drop in engine rpms and high engine coolant temp.
2. Try not to cut wet grass. It all sticks together, kinda balls up under the deck and makes it even harder on both mower and tractor to cut it.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Dude, you missed a tree!


That's what I was thinking too.



> Looks great, don't know why Jan would get heartburn from looking at the results!


Wasted hay.


----------



## Devonviolet

Bruce said:


> Dude, you missed a tree!
> 
> Looks great, don't know why Jan would get heartburn from looking at the results! I'm guessing you are finding your "new" tractor to be quite useful ... and fun!


----------



## Devonviolet

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Again, thank you to each and every one of you for reading and commenting on our journey from suburbanites to farmers:



Toooo FUNNY!!! Hahahahah!!!


----------



## Bruce

greybeard said:


> Wasted hay.


Got it! He'll stop "wasting hay" after he gets everything cleaned up and the plan, whatever it ends up being, comes together. I'm sure Mr. Haney will help!


----------



## Mike CHS

I didn't have enough trees in my paddocks so I planted quite a few.


----------



## Bruce

Careful you don't run them over with the mower! Shade trees are a good thing in animal pastures.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Got it! He'll stop "wasting hay" after he gets everything cleaned up and the plan, whatever it ends up being, comes together. I'm sure Mr. Haney will help!


I'm sure he will...for a small stipend.
Mr. Haney was the con man, the guy that usually had an ill fitting suit and tie on..and always with an angle..

Hank Kimball, was the inept 'county agent'


----------



## Baymule

And if funny smoke comes out from under your tractor, TURN OFF THE KEY! Unknown to me, there was a bare wire on the wiring harness. I was happily bush hogging, almost done, when smoke came out from under the floor of the tractor. I killed it immediately and crawled under the tractor. I saw the melted wires and just left it right there. If I hadn't turned off the key, more electrical damage would have been done.

Later we got neighbors to bring their big tractors and drag it up on our trailer so we could take it for repair. New wiring harness installed..... $1,000


----------



## greybeard

Most of the time, if I'm not going to be using my tractor for a couple of days, I disconnect the cable from negative terminal of the battery.
IF I have an electrical problem and especially if I see smoke, I also disconnect that cable..by any means at hand, as quickly as possible, and that is usually by cutting the cable. (Battery posts and cable terminals have a bad habit of welding/melting themselves together in direct short situations.)
There have been lots and lots of tractors burn to the ground with the key off and battery fully connected.

Lighting, charging and part of the start circuits generally have at least some of their circuits "hot at all times"...meaning the positive side of the circuit is almost always energized and control of that circuit is usually accomplished via controlling it's grounding.


----------



## Bruce

So many things to think about and remember!


----------



## Baymule

greybeard said:


> Most of the time, if I'm not going to be using my tractor for a couple of days, I disconnect the cable from negative terminal of the battery.
> IF I have an electrical problem and especially if I see smoke, I also disconnect that cable..by any means at hand, as quickly as possible, and that is usually by cutting the cable. (Battery posts and cable terminals have a bad habit of welding/melting themselves together in direct short situations.)
> There have been lots and lots of tractors burn to the ground with the key off and battery fully connected.
> 
> Lighting, charging and part of the start circuits generally have at least some of their circuits "hot at all times"...meaning the positive side of the circuit is almost always energized and control of that circuit is usually accomplished via controlling it's grounding.


I never thought about the battery. Luckily cutting off the key was enough. Thanks for your input, if it ever happens again, I will durn sure disconnect the battery! I'll check my tiny tool box under the seat to make sure I have the right tool for that.


----------



## farmerjan

greybeard said:


> That's what I was thinking too.
> 
> 
> Wasted hay.


Nope, not wasted hay....adding nutrients and organic matter for the earthworms and microbes to break down and turn into richer soil!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Bruce

Phew, Jan didn't need the antacids or have a heart attack.


----------



## greybeard

Baymule said:


> I never thought about the battery. Luckily cutting off the key was enough. Thanks for your input, if it ever happens again, I will durn sure disconnect the battery! I'll check my tiny tool box under the seat to make sure I have the right tool for that.


Make sure you understand, that battery terminal and it's bolt/nut are going to get HOT and quickly, and when you separate the 2, you will likely see some sparkin and arcin.  It's why I prefer to just cut the cable.
The farther from the battery, the better, since battery gases are very explosive in nature and a battery with a big short is going to be outgassing like crazy.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Wow!  Thanks so much for these inputs.  I had never thought about cutting the cable should an electrical fire break out, nor disconnecting the battery when I don't plan to use the tractor for awhile.  Thanks for those recommendations.

As for carrying the tools in the bucket, I have decided the best way to deal with that is to carry them in the other traveling bucket I have, namely the cargo bed of the Gator!  That way I will never run over the tools again!

As for 



Bruce said:


> Dude, you missed a tree!



I'm not sure if you were commenting on the grass around the tree, or leaving the tree standing.  If the grass, I had been mowed around the trees as best as I could, but by late in the day I was running low of diesel, so I decided to get the big areas first and come back and get the grass around the trees later when I got more diesel.  But if you meant the tree itself, then I left the taller trees (over 15') there on purpose, as my wife and I are not exactly sure what we are going to do with the land.  We don't know if we are going to keep pasture in grass or let it grow up in a planned fashion.  You see, the south pasture is immediately adjacent to the Arkansas Game and Fish's Blue Mountain Wildlife Demonstration Area (the red area in the picture below, with the blue area being the south pasture).  Each fall the Game and Fish folks have some hunters come into that area, where the Game and Fish release some quail and have the hunters let their dogs demonstrate their hunting skills, with the hunters using blanks in their shotguns.  Well, it seems perfectly sensible to provide an area for the quail after their release.  But we are not sure just what kind of habitat quail need to thrive.  I figure that we can cut the grass, weeds, and briars without bad consequences -- after all, they will quickly grow back.  But getting rid of the trees would be hard to undo if we wished we had some trees.






Regarding



Bruce said:


> Looks great, don't know why Jan would get heartburn from looking at the results!



I cautioned Miss @farmerjan because there was still some tall grass and weeds.  I am glad to see she survived looking at that mess.  

    Also, I plan to post more "before" pictures of the south pasture and get feedback on what we could do with it.  There are some places in the pasture where the briars are taller than the tractor.  I have already had some chest high briars say hello (leaving scars and thorns as they did), so I imagine those over-head-high briars will be even more friendly!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I figure that we can cut the grass, weeds, and briars without bad consequences -- after all, they will quickly grow back.



Which , like a lawn, is the downside of mowing pastures.

I'm in a similar situation, where, straight West of my parking area, about 6 car lengths from my front steps is Sam Houston National Forest, which encompasses 160,000 acres over parts of 3 counties.
I don't worry much about whether wildlife has trees or other habitat on my property and don't feel one bit guilty about cutting down or killing off all those trees, brush and weeds.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Regarding



greybeard said:


> I don't worry much about whether wildlife has trees or other habitat on my property and don't feel one bit guilty about cutting down or killing off all those trees, brush and weeds.



nor should you, Mr. @greybeard, sir.  My wife and I spent 17 years in a master planned community in McKinney.  While all of the homes and lawns were nice, and it had really nice walking paths with ponds and small lakes, it also had VERY strict covenants.  I remember shortly after we moved there, we agreed to keep my wife's next older sister's miniature schnauzer for 2 weeks. The dog was small enough to easily go between the railings in the wrought iron fence at the back of the yard.  So I bought at Lowe's some wooden lattice fence panels with quite small rectangles, small enough that the dog could not go through them, and wired them to the fence.  In just a few days we received a notice from the home owners association telling us that we were in violation of rules and had to take the fencing down.  Once that happened I vowed that I would never live in a master planned community again.  That is one reason we wanted to live in the country, where my neighbors minded their business and I minded mine.  We were lucky enough to get that kind of place.

One thing I forgot to mention in my previous post was that a day or so after getting the tractor, and before I took it out for the first time, I checked over everything to see if it was OK.  I decided to grease all of the fittings, starting at the shredder and working my way forward.  The tail wheel was easy to grease, as was the U-joint at the gear box on the shredder.  But the U-joint at the PTO on the tractor was a bear to get off.  I probably tried for 5 minutes trying to pull and wiggle the coupler from the fitting.  I then got out my big Channel-locks to try to get it off.  Nope.  Finally, I was able to pry it off with a big flat blade screwdriver.  So I looked on the Internet for an easy/quick connect/disconnect coupler.  I saw the Lock-N-Lube and watched a YouTube video about it.  It promised to be easy to connect and disconnect, so I decided to order it.  When it came in, I went to the shop to try it out.  The good news is that it lived up to the promise of quick connect and disconnect.  The bad news?  It was as effective in greasing the fitting as a garden hose would have been had I used that -- grease went everywhere around the fitting but inside it.  So I switched back to the one I used before.

Senile Texas Aggie.


----------



## Mini Horses

I would suggest that backing into the really tall briars would keep them off of you, so long as you back, then forward, repeat.   If a huge area, bummer.  If small, I have found such methods to save me from some of the attacks.


----------



## greybeard

Mini Horses said:


> I would suggest that backing into the really tall briars would keep them off of you, so long as you back, then forward, repeat.   If a huge area, bummer.  If small, I have found such methods to save me from some of the attacks.



He does have a loader with bucket, to push the thorny stuff down as he goes into it. Do watch out for low limbs and any vines that may wreak havoc with the exhaust pipe tho.
I usually wear a hardhat when bush hogging too.


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## Mike CHS

When I first started cutting my fields we had met a neighbor and he said he remembered there being a ditch that was about 4 feet deep and 4 feet or so wide.  He couldn't remember where exactly it was nor which direction it ran in so me and my tractor roamed that field with the loader down in float position following the ground contour until I found it.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks to all for the above suggestions.  I should have followed some of those today.

If the BYH website had a means of entering a subject or title line, I would call this post "Almost Darwin Award" or maybe "They Don't Make Fiberglass Canopies Like They Used To".  (For those who don't know what a "Darwin Award" is, see http://darwinawards.com/ .)  After 4 big showers in three days, I knew the overgrown pastures would be really wet, so I knew not to try to mow them.  But with it being really cool this morning -- overcast with temperatures in the low 70s -- I decided that I would clean out from under the large oak tree just south of the north pond.  (See below for the "before" picture.)







Rather than doing it the way that my wife and I been doing it before, namely reciprocating saw and hedge trimmers (both of which survived the recent tool slaughter), the pruning/lopping shears (a brand new pair), and the pole saw, I decided to see what I could do with the tractor and front end loader (for pushing/digging up trees) and the shredder.  Starting on the north side of the tree, using the front end loader to push over the trees was easy enough, but digging them out only worked so-so.  But after I got a good bit of them down, I decided to use the shredder to cut the remaining trees.  Starting from the north side, I circled around to the front and then to the south side.  The overgrowth on the east side was not nearly as bad, since that side doesn't get much light (the trees along the property boundary are probably only 30 feet away).  I decided to get a little closer to the tree.  I saw that there was a limb hanging down, but I figured they would go over the canopy with no problem.  So into the limbs I drove -- in 4th gear.  I saw the limb engage the canopy, and the limb starting to bend.  Suddenly there were a lot of oak leaves in my face so that I couldn't see.  I felt a limb hit my left shoulder and start digging in.  Letting go of the steering wheel (!), I raised up both arms.  The limb that struck the left should then went up and behind me, hitting the back of the seat.  Another limb hit the top of my right hand, tearing the skin off.  Then the limb that hit the back seat started moving forward against my back, forcing me to bend forward.  Then the limb cleared out.  A moment later, the tractor engine stopped.

I sat there stunned, as it all happened so fast, in what seemed to be less than a second.  After maybe 10 seconds of sitting, I recovered enough to feel like I could go back to shredding.  But the tractor wouldn't start.  The ignition lights would come on, but the engine wouldn't crank.  I thought that maybe some wire got yanked loose behind the seat, but there didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary.  So I got off the tractor, release the hood latch, and started rasing the hood.  As I did, I looked up, and this is what I saw:





I stood there with my jaw dropped.  I couldn't believe how much damage that oak limb had done.  And I couldn't believe how STUPID I was to try to drive under that limb!  To think that the limb could have impaled me.  Or it could have lifted the front end of the tractor off the ground and maybe turned over!

After getting over the shock enough, I finally found why the tractor wouldn't start -- the safety switch under the seat was indicating to the tractor that the seat was unoccupied, even though I was sitting on it.  Somehow the limb going through the canopy had behind the seat altered the way it positioned over the safety switch.  By placing the pliers I had bought the day before between the seat and the switch, the tractor started.  I decided to drive back home and get the other tools and due it the old fashioned way.

So now my tractor adventures are over until I can get a new canopy and fix the safety switch.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Not going to "like" your near death experience! Next time pay attention to the sign on the tree telling you the height clearance 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> As for carrying the tools in the bucket, I have decided the best way to deal with that is to carry them in the other traveling bucket I have, namely the cargo bed of the Gator! That way I will never run over the tools again!


Um, how does one drive both the Gator and the tractor at the same time?? Or does this ensure quality time with your wife?



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> But if you meant the tree itself, then I left the taller trees (over 15') there on purpose, as my wife and I are not exactly sure what we are going to do with the land.


Yes, the tree and I was kidding. I figured if you wanted that tree down you would have done so.



Mini Horses said:


> I would suggest that backing into the really tall briars would keep them off of you, so long as you back, then forward, repeat.   If a huge area, bummer.  If small, I have found such methods to save me from some of the attacks.


You beat me to it Mini. Seems that it might be best to chop them up before they can contact the tractor body, or @Senile_Texas_Aggie's body.


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## Mike CHS

I don't know if you are interested but I got my canopy from the folks at the link below:

https://www.rhinohidecanopies.com/

They wouldn't have solved your placement of the tractor in a place it shouldn't have been  but I have taken my tractor under some tree limbs and you just have to make sure they are above the canopy.


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## greybeard

Hanging limbs, when pushed against, will almost always move downwards. They are already held upwards as far as possible against gravity and anything that bends the fibers, whether it be wind or mechanical objects will usually make them bend down more under their own weight.


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## frustratedearthmother

Some lessons we learn the hard way.... so glad you're relatively ok!


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## Bruce

Mike CHS said:


> I don't know if you are interested but I got my canopy from the folks at the link below:


That looks pretty useful. I would have to attach it to the upper part of the ROPS because the seat in the 1533 is up higher and the ROPS hinge is lower than what he shows in his video, it is about the same height as the seat back. Guess I would have to measure, possible there wouldn't be enough headroom.


----------



## Mike CHS

There are multiple mounting schemes.  The directions even come with how to attach if you mess it up when installing it.  That came in real handy when I did it the wrong way.  

I have a Kubota L3200 if it helps to have a reference size.


----------



## Bruce

Sure wish they had standard values for the tractors at TractorData. For instance they have wheelbase and ground clearance for the L3200 but not the 1533. Lots of others too.


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## Mike CHS

I may be wrong but when I first started looking there was very little difference in the specs for Kubota and the others in the same class.  The only reason I went with Kubota was they gave me the best price for what I was looking for.  By a couple of thousand so no contest.  Also they were the only ones that would insure the tractor since we weren't here more than we were.


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## Latestarter

Glad you only hurt the tractor and not yourself. Learning curve... Pretty soon you'll earn your graduation certificate (hopefully!)  Guess you can call the dealer and ask what a new fiberglass top will cost. Alternatively, you could take some measurements and build a wooden topper to bolt on in place of the fiberglass. Might be cheaper and will certainly make your tractor personalized and allow it to "stand out" from the crowd...


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> So into the limbs I drove


We sold lots of aluminum and steel replacements for rop's canopies when I worked at Kubota. The fiberglas and other plastics didn't hold up around here very well. 
I could build one from either steel or alum for a lot less than what we charged and for less than what after market places are selling them as well.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Regarding



Bruce said:


> Next time pay attention to the sign on the tree telling you the height clearance



You are right -- I flat out missed seeing that clearance sign! 

Regarding



Mike CHS said:


> I don't know if you are interested but I got my canopy from the folks at the link below:
> 
> https://www.rhinohidecanopies.com/



I looked at the web site but did not see one specifically designed for a New Holland.  Are they adjustable to fit different widths?

Regarding



frustratedearthmother said:


> Some lessons we learn the hard way.... so glad you're relatively ok!



and



Latestarter said:


> Glad you only hurt the tractor and not yourself. Learning curve... Pretty soon you'll earn your graduation certificate (hopefully!)



Thanks to you both for the wishes.  And I only hope I earn my graduation certificate too, before I become eligible for a Darwin Award! 

As for Mr. @greybeard's idea of building my own canopy, I might consider that.  But considering that I have rarely built much of anything (see my comment in my very first post about what my dog thought of the dog house I built for him), I run the risk of making a canopy that would fail and make matters worse!

This morning it was really cool -- 60 degrees -- so my wife and I decided to tackle clearing the dam around the pond again, using the pole saw, the reciprocating saw, the pruning/lopping shears, and the hedge trimmers.  After 2 hours of work, with not a bit of breeze, it didn't seem nearly as cool.  We both decided that it was time to buy a real chain saw.  So off I to go shop for one.  Let's hope I don't buy a piece of crap!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

Look into the easy pull ones they have nowadays.
Both mine are the old style recoil and it won't be too many more years before I can't drop start one any more.
(both are Stihl Farm Boss 290 saws with 20" bars)
The new model# for FarmBoss is 271.

And unless you are an experienced sawyer, get a full comp chain on it, not full skip or semi-skip. (some dealers call the full comp a 'safety chain'.)
I think the current designation for the safety chain is RSC3 and it should come in a green box.

http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/255/chain3.jpg


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> And I only hope I earn my graduation certificate too, before I become eligible for a Darwin Award!


If you already have kids I don't think you can actually get a Darwin award. I think you are supposed to remove yourself from the gene pool BEFORE you pass them on!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Regarding



greybeard said:


> Look into the easy pull ones they have nowadays... get a full comp chain on it, not full skip or semi-skip.



I wish I had read this post before I went to town to shop for chainsaws.  Before leaving, I checked Consumer Reports for their ratings and saw that the Stihl was highly rated, and I knew that Ace Hardware sold Stihl, so I ended up buying an MS 251 C-BE.  I looked at bigger models but decided that the 251 was light enough and powerful enough for my needs.  It has the easy start feature.  One of the folks there took it outside and demonstrated it and it started on the first pull.  Great!  No more magic formula!  As for a full comp chain, I don't know if it has that or not, but I assume it does, since it has only an 18" bar.  Until you mentioned it, I had no idea of the different chain types.  But a search on the Internet led me to an explanation, so now I know a bit more about chainsaws.  Since I doubt my wife will be using the chainsaw, I didn't mind buying a 2 Cycle engine.

Having watched on YouTube the Stoney Ridge Farmer videos, where in one of his videos he talked about chainsaw safety, I also bought some chaps and a hardhat / face shield / hearing protectors.  Now I can look like a real chainsaw dude!  

As for 



Bruce said:


> If you already have kids I don't think you can actually get a Darwin award. I think you are supposed to remove yourself from the gene pool BEFORE you pass them on!



Ouch!  Boy, Bruce, you sure know how to hurt a fella -- just tell the truth about him!    Seriously, my wife and I don't have kids, but considering that I will soon turn 66, and my wife recently turned 61, I doubt we will be having any anytime soon!


Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I want to confess to everyone that I am a stalker.  You see, I have been stalking many of you by reading your journals.  I just finished Miss @goatgurl's journal, and have been reading a bit at a time of many others of you.  And for you, Mr. @greybeard, and you, Miss @farmerjan, I haven't located journals that either of you keep, so I have resorted to reading your most recent posts.

"Why are you stalking us?" you ask?  It's simple.  I learn so much from reading what y'all post that I have found it to be a great use of my time.  The biggest thing I learn is just how much I don't know.  For example, while reading Miss @goatgurl's journal, I read a post that mentioned "wether".  "What's a 'wether'?", I asked myself.  "Did they mean 'weather'?  No, that doesn't make sense.  Maybe they meant 'whether'.  No, that doesn't make sense, either."  So I left wondering what the heck a "wether" is.  Also, what is an "ff"?  Fertile female?  Foxy female?  F***ing female?  Something else?  I wish I could find a glossary for these terms.  Oh, well, just part of this learning process.

So, yes, I am a stalker.  I hope y'all don't mind...

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

    Once I get the canopy on the tractor fixed, as well as the safety switch under the seat, I will be tackling the remaining part of the south pasture.  I wanted to show pictures of what remains to be mowed.  WARNING TO READERS.  THIS POST CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES OF A FORMERLY PRISTINE PASTURE TURNED INTO A JUNGLE.  VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Here is the area to which the pictures will reference.






Point A, looking west.  Not too bad here.



 

Point B, looking west.  Starting to get into more trees and the briars are getting thicker.


 

Point C, looking west.  The start of the pine/briar jungle/thicket.


 

Point D, looking northwest.  The southernmost part of the south pasture.  The pine/briar jungle/thicket is just as thick here.


 

Point E, looking north.  Still plenty of pines/briars.


 

Point F, looking north.  Still plenty of pines and briars.


 

More pictures in the next post(s)...


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Point G, looking northeast.  This is right next to the southeastern bank of the south pond.


 

Point G, looking northwest across the pond.


 
Point H, looking east.  Out of the jungle.


 
Point H, looking west:


 
Point I, looking east toward the west bank of the south pond.


 
Point J, looking northeast:


 
Point K, looking east.  The northwestern most part of the unmowed part.


 
Point L, looking northeast.  This is the part of the pasture where I was mowing but had to stop when it started raining.


 
So that gives you an idea of what remains.  So what advice do you folks have as to how I tackle this?  Will this be like eating an elephant, namely 1 bite at a time?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Mike CHS

In their Q&A section if the Rhinohide  Canopy:

Will it fit my ROPS? Yes with the following exceptions: ROPS legs over 2-1/4" x 4"  ROPS over 45" wide NO. If your ROPS are over 42" wide we can furnish extended brackets good up to 45 ", we just need to know. Not compatible with round ROPS legs but we have had a user, with one of the new Exmarks that used (4) 2-1/2" muffler clamps. He drilled (4) new holes in the brackets. It really worked well.

I emailed them with a couple of questions before I bought mine and they responded pretty fast.


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Point A, looking west. Not too bad here.


That is kind of what mine looks like. No trees trying to take over. But then I have only about 5 acres of non forest land and it had been used as grazing pasture by the people we bought from. I can see how 100 acres could get away if someone didn't have the time to stay on it. 

And yes, one bite at a time. Anything else would drive you insane.


----------



## Mike CHS

I might have to go back and read again but I don't remember what your short term goal is.  With as much acreage as you are working you can make a full time job of getting it all under control and never making goal or you can more reliably pick an area that you can make exactly like you want and get it done without killing yourself.  I had our almost 20 acres looking great by mowing once a month but when I started adding fence and animals to the plan it became harder.  Of course, that once a month mowing was because I was only here a couple of days a month and I was mowing and spraying 2-4-D twice a year to get the grass winning the growing race.


----------



## goatgurl

@Senile_Texas_Aggie I knew I had that creepy feeling that someone was watching me today.  I hope I didn't put you to sleep reading about my world.  
   first I vote that you spend a chunk of money and fence the perimeter of your property and go find you a herd of meat goats.  give them the run of the place and in a couple of years they will have all your little trees and greenbriers cleaned  up.  then sell them at a tidy profit and enjoy your nice clean property.  after they have it cleaned off its easier to keep tidy.   your going to hurt yourself with that tractor if your not careful.  
  definitions:  FF = first freshener, a goat or sheep that is having its first offspring.  next comes 2nd, 3rd freshener, etc.  as they give birth year after year.  wether = a castrated male goat or sheep.  I usually castrate/wether the males I keep for my meat supply. they are a whole lot easier to deal with.  testosterone  poisoning is a bad thing. LGD = livestock guardian dog, many of us have them and we all think that the breed we have is the best, lol.  we just agree to disagree on that point.
chickens:  slw = silver laced Wyandotte.  glw = golden laced Wyandotte.   rir = rhode island red.  bo = buff orphington.  ss = speckled Sussex.  ba = black australorps. ee = easter eggers.  br = barred rock.  I could go on and on with chicken breeds but you get the picture.  do you have other abbreviations that have you puzzled?


----------



## Latestarter

Since I'm assuming that you have no "formal" lumberjack training, please be careful with that chainsaw. If you have any questions as to its capabilities, there are several movies that give pretty good representations of what they are capable of... specifically from your previous, my present, state of residence... 

I agree with what others have said and what you alluded to... one bite at a time. If you can use the shredder (bush hog) to knock down what's knock down-able to start, then this fall/winter you can go back through systematically and remove the trees from the pastures. I'd start with the easiest areas and those closest to your home first and move outwards from there.


----------



## greybeard

If it's trash trees, start with any trees big enough to drop seeds.
That was a lesson I learned the hard way here.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Regarding



Mike CHS said:


> I don't remember what your short term goal is.



my initial goal for the land was to grow hay on the 80 acres of good pasture and let someone else mow and bale it.  But with it having such poor production this past June that plan didn't work out so well.  I also wanted to get the overgrown south pasture back in better shape.  That is one of the biggest reasons I wanted to buy a tractor.  Now that the tractor is out of commission at the moment, then that will get postponed for a bit.  But I plan to get back to it once I get the tractor repaired.

Regarding



goatgurl said:


> I knew I had that creepy feeling that someone was watching me today.



sorry to creep you out, Miss @goatgurl !  But it was innocent on my part, because I am looking to all of you, since y'all know what the heck you are doing, at least a lot more than I do!  And thanks so much for the definitions you provided.  It helped demystify a lot of what I read.

As for 



goatgurl said:


> first I vote that you spend a chunk of money and fence the perimeter of your property and go find you a herd of meat goats. give them the run of the place and in a couple of years they will have all your little trees and greenbriers cleaned up. then sell them at a tidy profit and enjoy your nice clean property. after they have it cleaned off its easier to keep tidy. your going to hurt yourself with that tractor if your not careful.



I can certainly believe I can hurt myself with the tractor, as I definitely wasn't careful when I drove into that oak limb in 4th gear at the PTO 540 RPM speed! .  As for fencing the perimeter of my property, I decided to make an estimate of what that would cost.  Using Google maps, I estimated the length of the perimeter of my entire place at 13,464 ft.  If I am going to fence the entire perimeter, then I want it to be horse and cow proof, or at least resistant (Mr. @greybeard and Miss @farmerjan, please weigh in here as to whether using this type fence makes sense), as well as goat and sheep proof, so I priced 2"x4" 4 ft x 200 ft no climb horse fencing at Tractor Supply's web site, which was $250.00 per roll.  That means it would take 67.32 rolls (assuming no overlap at all, which is not the case).  That works out to be $16,380 for the fencing rolls.  T-posts (8-ft long) spaced 10 feet apart would be $8,735, for a subtotal of $25,155.  I can use oak or cedar trees here on my property for the anchoring posts, so no extra expense there.  If I do all of the labor, then no extra cost there.  However, I have NEVER put in fencing, other than minor repair to chain link fencing for a suburban setting, so I would need A LOT of adult supervision, at least at first.  (I really wish Miss @farmerjan lived close, as I would sign a 20 year lease with her in a heartbeat, as she would do the fencing -- and the haying -- right!   Alas, she is about 950 miles away!)

If I simply fence in the south pasture, where the current overgrowth is, then that would be a more reasonable distance of around 4000 ft for a cost of around $7500.  So I will give that some thought, as that makes a good bit more sense.  But I will have to do a LOT more learning about goats and their care before I do anything.

Regarding



Latestarter said:


> Since I'm assuming that you have no "formal" lumberjack training, please be careful with that chainsaw.


,

wise advice, @Latestarter.  When we were about to set out for the pond this morning, I planned to use the new chain saw, but my wife convinced me that I should learn a lot more about chainsaw safety, so I did not take it with us.  So I will do some research on chainsaw safety and usage.  While I am on the subject, _how do you folks sharpen you chainsaw teeth?_  I have dulled the teeth on my pole saw and they need sharpening really badly, and I am sure the Stihl chainsaw will need sharpening once I start using it.

Thanks again to all of you for your comments and suggestions as my wife and I continue on this wonderful journey from city slickers to country folks.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

I use a chainsaw file. You can get them just about anywhere that sells chains but you need to get the right size file.
A good chain will have guide marks on each cutting tooth--that's the correct angle to hold the file at. #1 in the following picture:
https://blog.stihl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/160125_STIHL_Blog_Rundfeile_Service-undVerschleißmarkierungen.png

Your bar may also have the angle in degrees stamped on it...if not, consult your saw's instruction manual.
You can also get a chain file guide if you want to...they're pretty cheap and have the information on top of it what angle to use it at.
I've used them..just didn't like them, as I like to rotate my file on every other stroke and it's hard to do when the file is clamped in the guide but lots of people do use them. They look like this.
http://www.popscreen.com/p/MTU5MjI0...hainsaw-Sharpener-for-Stihl-Dolmar-Husky-Echo

There's all kinds of fancy things to use to sharpen them nowadays. I just get out my file and sharpen mine on the saw with it (and me) sitting on the truck tailgate. It should just take a couple of strokes of the file on each cutter to bring it back sharp once you master the process.

http://theprocutter.com/chainsaw-sharpening-guide/


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> If I am going to fence the entire perimeter, then I want it to be horse and cow proof, or at least resistant (Mr. @greybeard and Miss @farmerjan, please weigh in here as to whether using this type fence makes sense), as well as goat and sheep proof, so I priced 2"x4" 4 ft x 200 ft no climb horse fencing at Tractor Supply's web site, which was $250.00 per roll. That means it would take 67.32 rolls (assuming no overlap at all, which is not the case). That works out to be $16,380 for the fencing rolls. T-posts (8-ft long) spaced 10 feet apart would be $8,735, for a subtotal of $25,155. I can use oak or cedar trees here on my property for the anchoring posts, so no extra expense there. If I do all of the labor, then no extra cost there. However, I have NEVER put in fencing, other than minor repair to chain link fencing for a suburban setting, so I would need A LOT of adult supervision, at least at first.



Not something I would do for cows or horses or any combination of the 2 but there's plenty of goat and sheep people here who would tho most of them don't have but a fraction of the acreage you have. There a lot of difference in fencing in 6-20 acres for goats and fencing in 100 acres, both in cost and labor.
Where to start....
You'll be spending mid 5 figures on fencing the whole property before this is done so you will naturally expect it to last the rest of your life.
Do not use living trees for corners or anchoring.
1. You'll kill the trees eventually if not in short order.
2. What happens, when your anchors blow down? That corner is the life of the fence..it is IS the fence, meaning if the tree blows down, you no longer have a fence.
3. Tree sap is corrosive even to galvanized HT wire. It will eventually rust and again, you've lost the fence.
4. To pull any HT wire tight, you will be putting slow but constant strain in one direction on the tree trunk. It will eventually lean in direction of strain which means your fence wire will get loose.

You need to include gates in your costs--they average $90 here for a 14' tube gate.
You will have to include the 4 posts that support and latch the gates (unless your gates are all adjacent to a corner).

IMO, you can beat TSC price and quality by buying from other places....I know I can here.

Oh..using Google maps, since you already have found your property on that website, there are several 'fence planners' you can access for free to get a good idea what your materials will actually be.
https://myfence.mysalesman.com/?partnerCode=d2a41c2ba6fe#Start

https://www.farmfencesolutions.com/fence-configurator/

https://fencing.bekaert.com/en/fencing-calculator

Others just use linear ft and number of turns (corners)


----------



## Mike CHS

We only have a little less than 19 acres and knew that by the time we got finished fencing, the entire property would be have a perimeter fence and cross fences.  We first built a small 2 acre sacrificial dry lot for our first 10 sheep that also had a handling area and shelters for lambing if we needed them.  We had just started so made allowances for confining them as well as access and control for handling them.

We next built a 3 1/2 acre paddock in the line where it would join with another paddock of the same size.  Each subsequent paddock no matter the size would have at least one side already up and gates installed to be able to serve either way.  That way I was able to work for a couple of weeks at a time and have plenty of pasture for our sheep.  I planned it so as to have my largest paddock finished by the time we had our largest lambing cycle since chores don't go away while you're building fence so that way I was able to do those "bites" you mentioned and still be able to enjoy life.  We had as many as 50 sheep out there for a bit till we starting taking to market and doing individual sales.  I spent probably a little better than a year building fences but I always had enough grass by controlling breeding cycles and never having more than I can feed with resources on hand.  You can run a lot of goats on 20 acres and still be able how much you want to be fenced.  If I let the 40 sheep we have run around uncontrolled, every piece of green that they like out there would be dead.  By rotating them I always have enough grass for the next rotation and the parasites have time to die while the sheep aren't on those paddocks.

We are doing two more breeding cycles this year but we will only have half of the ewes lambing at the same time so there will always be enough grass.  We have made allowances for dry weather also but if push comes to shove the trailer will be full and going to auction except for the prime animals. 

I was 66 when we started building infrastructure and that included a whole lot more than fences and since we really are retired, I wasn't going to go out and kill myself doing a day full of building and then animal care after/before that.  Like I said, the chores don't go away while you are building fences and a few hours a day between chores makes life a whole lot more enjoyable.  It takes longer to get it done but we never allowed the number of animals to get beyond our ability to affordably keep them with on site resources available.


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## Bruce

I bought my file when I bought my chain saw. It is the one that has the wood handle and the file held in a flat plate that has 30° angles marked on it. When you file, keep the line on the plate parallel to the saw bar and file only to the outside direction of each cutter. And .... there is a green link in the chain. If you start with that near the body of the saw, you will know when you have done each cutter when it gets back to that point. You can buy replacement files. I usually file every 2 tanks of gas. Unless I hit hidden rusty old barbed wire in a tree 

BTW, I followed your lead on protection (head). Bought the integrated hardhat/face shield/hearing protectors when I picked up my repaired saw today. Not a big issue when I was only cutting the ends of delivered firewood that was too long. Bigger issue when I'm out in the woods cutting down trees, most of which hang up in other trees instead of dropping to the ground.


----------



## Baymule

Bruce said:


> Not going to "like" your near death experience! Next time pay attention to the sign on the tree telling you the height clearance





Bruce you are such a smart ass. I love it!


----------



## Baymule

Maybe instead of the 2"x4" non climb horse wire (I used it on our place) you could use the 4"x4" goat and sheep wire. It comes on 330' rolls and would be cheaper to use than the horse wire.


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## Mike CHS

I used the heavier sheep & goat fence at first that @Baymule mentioned but I had help then.  Those rolls weigh 300+ pounds and can be handled by one person but it isn't easy.  I discovered the Gaucho brand wire (High Tensile) field fence at Tractor Supply and finished my fences with that.  I don't remember the weight but it was less than half of the heavier Red Brand fence and since I have all hills, I would always start at the high end and let gravity run the fence out.  

It is cheaper than the heavier fence and has the advantage of being stronger and needing fewer fence posts.  I still ran 10' apart plus I have hot wire because we have a sweet Great Pyrenees that loves to climb. The Red Brand has needed some maintenance to keep tight where the High Tensile has needed none.  We have had our neighbors goat in one of our pens and although they tried they couldn't get out of our fence.


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## Bruce

You have a tractor Mike, you can use that to tote the massively heavy (*) wire with it. Heck, you could even make something to put on the back of the tractor to hold the roll while you drive and lay it down at the same time.

* yeah I got a roll of that too, took 3 of us to get it in the car. Only took two to get it on the cargo carrier on the receiver hitch for the second roll.


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## Mike CHS

But in the case of fencing, there is an advantage to hills as long as you make sure you start out on the right end.


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## Bruce

But you have to GET it to the right end! As you well know. One of my rolls was dragged to the "starting line" on a kid's  plastic snow sled. I'm guessing those aren't real common there. The other I had help from someone that lives up the side road to get through the ditch and onto the field. From there I stuck a long hollow metal pipe in it, ran wire through that and connected it to the back of the garden tractor. I drove slowly and DW let me know when it needed to be repositioned. That was a generally down hill run.


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## greybeard

Bruce said: ↑
Next time pay attention to the sign on the tree telling you the height clearance 

A Biltmore stick comes in handy. Buy one or make one



Or, get a straight stick the same length as your arm--shoulder to palm of your hand.  Approach the tree to within a few yards (meters for you foreigners) about 1/2 as close as the tree is estimated to be in height.  Hold your arm straight out, with the stick straight up in the air and  the very end of the stick tightly clenched in your grubby little hand  ..
Here's where it gets hard, (more difficult for some than others)
Walk backwards (oh noes!! ) with the stick still straight up and arm fully extended, and your eyes steadfastly on the tip of the stick. When the highest point of top of the tree is right at the top of your stick, *STOP! *You are now the same distance from the trunk of the tree as it is tall within just a few feet anyway. Make a scuff mark on the ground with your foot and measure from there to the tree trunk.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Whew!  So much to learn!  How does this idea sound?  Why don't I throw a really big BBQ dinner for everyone and all of you show up and teach me what I needed to do.  I know it would be a heckofa drive for just about everyone (especially such folks as @Bruce in NW Vermont, @Mike CHS in North Caolina, Miss @farmerjan in SW Virginia, @Mini Horses in coastal Virginia, and Miss @Ridgetop way out in California) but maybe I could make it worth your whiles.  OK, I know it isn't realistic.  I thought it would prove interesting for you folks to meet a real live Texas Aggie!

OK, I will address your posts and in the next post I provide I will ask for some advice.

Regarding


Baymule said:


> Bruce you are such a smart ass. I love it!



I thought that very funny as well.  

Regarding



greybeard said:


> Oh..using Google maps, since you already have found your property on that website, there are several 'fence planners' you can access for free to get a good idea what your materials will actually be.
> https://myfence.mysalesman.com/?partnerCode=d2a41c2ba6fe#Start
> 
> https://www.farmfencesolutions.com/fence-configurator/
> 
> https://fencing.bekaert.com/en/fencing-calculator



and



Mike CHS said:


> I used the heavier sheep & goat fence at first that @Baymule mentioned but I had help then. Those rolls weigh 300+ pounds and can be handled by one person but it isn't easy. I discovered the Gaucho brand wire (High Tensile) field fence at Tractor Supply and finished my fences with that...  It is cheaper than the heavier fence and has the advantage of being stronger and needing fewer fence posts. I still ran 10' apart plus I have hot wire because we have a sweet Great Pyrenees that loves to climb. The Red Brand has needed some maintenance to keep tight where the High Tensile has needed none. We have had our neighbors goat in one of our pens and although they tried they couldn't get out of our fence.



All of you folks amaze me.  I will probably 6 feet under (and I know that since the righteous die young I will live to a ripe old age) and I will won't know half of what you folks know.

Now to my questions in the next post.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

    I decided to use one of the fencing websites that Mr. @greybeard provided, namely Fencing Solutions, to see what it came up with.  I laid out the fencing similar to this (the eastern and southwestern boundaries are my property boundaries, while the northern boundary was arbitrarily chosen):






I chose fencing suitable for goats.  The website said I needed 15 330-ft rolls.  But it did not mention any posts in the price lists.  I went back to see if I needed to change something but the website cleared out everything I had entered.  So what I have posted above is a snapshot of Google Maps.

Would it make sense to fence in the above section, build some buildings to house the goats at night at point A, and then turn the goats lose?  Or would I need to subdivide the areas so that I could rotationally graze?  How hard would building the fence through the woods (all of the southwest boundery and a portion of the eastern and northern boundaries be?

I have a book titled _Natural Goat Care_, which I have yet to read.  Maybe it is time to read that and then maybe I won't have to ask so many questions of you folks.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Mike CHS

I'm going to let the goat people answer that one but most of the folks that I know in this part of the country do rotational grazing for parasite control.  We also do that but have to plan ahead more since we need about twice the acreage than we have.  It would help most that offer suggestions to know where your access point and any road areas leading up to the fence.  Is water available or will you have to haul it?  Any existing buildings for working and/or hay storage?


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## greybeard

Mike CHS said:


> Is water available or will you have to haul it?


There's a pond in that enclosure. Managing the worm load might be a chore but there are hundreds of thousands of goats raised in central and southwest Texas on pond and runoff water.


Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> How hard would building the fence through the woods (all of the southwest boundery and a portion of the eastern and northern boundaries be?



Depends how good you get with your chainsaw and brush hog. The longest thru-the-woods fence I built here recently was 2200' and it was tough, but it crossed 3 different waterways and was barbed wire..I drug each strand by hand from one end to the other.
Prior to that, my twin brother and I fenced the whole 124 acres when we were 14 and 15 years old and it was all wooded at the time with a a Nat Forest on 2 sides.

Built and maintained several in West Texas on 4 sections thru lots of mesquite and prickly pear which wasn't quite as bad.

Designate a start point and an end point, walk it, then walk it again. walk it a 3rd time with a can of spray paint and mark every tree that has to go..a path tractor footprint wide. Figure out where you want that little angled dog leg offset too. Then start on one end and start cutting.


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## Bruce

How many acres is that area? Depending on how many animals you are going to have cross fencing is likely a good idea. Right, more money! 

 I think Greybeard is right, fencing in woods means cutting lots of trees and finding out there are tons of roots you'll need to get through to put in wood or T posts. Probably why people used to nail wire to trees. 

BTW, Mike is in middle TN so he is closer than you thought.


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## greybeard

Bruce said:


> BTW, Mike is in middle TN so he is closer than you thought.


Still close to a 7 hr drive..one way.


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## Bruce

Yeah but closer than N.C.


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## greybeard

Latestarter and the North East Texas bunch are a lot closer. 

I did once, make the trip from here to L R in under 7 hours, but I was flyin low.
Made several round trips from Memphis Tn to here on a regular weekend pass way back....... when I was driving something that could  run 100mph all day long.


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## Bruce

Yeah they are and @goatgurl is almost a next door neighbor.


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## Baymule

Or you could hire a bulldozer to clear out the property line for you...…. Is the lines on your property the property lines or just what you want to fence in at this time?

Regarding what you posted about the quail endeavours going on next to your property, quail thrive on pastures of clump type grasses. Solid growing grasses such as Bermuda are not good quail habitat. Forest is not good habitat either. The clump grasses have quail sized paths between clumps, offering cover for the quail. The seeds they make are food for the quail. A little bit of brush and you have prime quail habitat. Plant strips of peas, the deer will love munching on the peas and any seed that makes will fall to the ground for the quail.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Hey, everybody,

Before we bought the property, we had the property surveyed.  What markers, if any, do surveyors provide to indicate the property boundaries?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

They drive in a iron stake, usually rebar, at ground level. Good luck finding it. There might be a wood stake with surveyors ribbon on it. If you are going to fence it, might want to get them back to mark the lines instead of just the corners.


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## Mike CHS

We had ours surveyed 5 years ago and most of the marker ribbon is still there.  It doesn't help you but I painted trees or whatever else that was close to a stake.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Now back to the pasture discussion.

Regarding



Mike CHS said:


> It would help most that offer suggestions to know where your access point and any road areas leading up to the fence. Is water available or will you have to haul it? Any existing buildings for working and/or hay storage?



and



Bruce said:


> How many acres is that area?



the area I was proposing to fence in is about 30 acres.  The only water I currently have in that area is the ponds.  There are no buildings there, so I would have to build some there.  Here is a bit bigger picture of the area, including the south pasture, and my proposed access points.  The solid red lines are the property boundaries, while the blue line is where I was considering building a fence to enclose the overgrown pasture.  Point A, in the upper left, is where I was thinking of building the goat buildings.  For the fences along the property, I want to build the kind of fence that will contain all kinds of animals -- cows, horses, goats, sheep, etc. -- since it is on the property line, and I only want to build the fence once in my lifetime.  The fence subdividing the south pasture can be less sturdy but sturdy enough to be goat resistant.






Does it make sense to put the goat buildings so far from the house?  After all, we won't be able to hear them easily that far away.  And would it be tempting for predators being that far from the house, or would the predators attack even if the goat buildings were next to the house? 

And if I need to subdivide the 30 acres for rotation, would we be able to run, say, electrical fencing through briars and the fencing still work, or would we need to clear out a wide path so the briars didn't ground out the fencing?

So many questions I have.  I thank everyone for your patience with me.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

I would think you would want cross fencing with 30 acres, otherwise you'll never find your animals  Unless you have some well trained herding dogs to bring them in for you.  Besides that I would guess you would want to have some control over where the animals are eating, especially if you are hoping they will clear out some of the vegetation. I suspect that like people, they will eat their favorites first and work their way down to the less "dessert" plants.

I know that on the Cyclops electric fence charger site that have a tool to help figure out what size charger you need. Along with length of wire run they ask about foliage. That said, I think you really want to make a nice wide clean path for the fence, and enough space to run your Gator (or whatever you have) to do fence checks. You don't want to be walking through weeds and trees to make sure all is well.


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## greybeard

Isn't that area immediately next to the dog/quail wildlife place?

Yes, you would need to clear a path for an electric fence, just as you would for any other fence. Wet vegetation will greatly diminish the effectiveness if not completely short out electric fences in all but the higher joule energizers.


You are going in the right direction with this thought:
"_For the fences along the property, I want to build the kind of fence that will contain all kinds of animals -- cows, horses, goats, sheep, etc. -- since it is on the property line_"

Perimeter fences should always be the best fence you can build...it lessens the risk of liability should animals escape, tho you do live in a pretty rural part of the state.

To me, it looks as if you may have over estimated the highlighted parcel at 30 acres.


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## animalmom

We have 130+ acres, all fenced.  The compound where we live is somewhere around 5 acres, again all fenced.  We have our goats inside the compound in three pens and the chicken pen and the duck pen and the vegetable raised beds and the....  We run a small herd of cattle on the property outside the compound.

I would not like to have my goats as far from the house as your diagram indicates.  You might not be able to hear them and you surely won't be able to see them.  Not saying it is impossible to do what you are asking, but I think you are asking for problem, namely predators 2 and 4 legged and not tamed goats (know the expression "goat rope"?)

Regarding running hot wire as cross fencing you would need the area under the hot wire, or hot tape or hot mesh fencing to be clear of anything that could possible even think of touching it.

You could start your goats much closer to the house and over time move them further out... but why would you want to make more work for you?  I can appreciate you wanting to have the future goats browse but........

Just my 2 cents worth.  I now return you to the normal logical entries.


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## goatgurl

I think before we spend all your money on fencing we need to take a step back and ask just what do you want to do with these goats you want to get.  pets, milk, meat?  the answer to that will help you decide where you want to put your fence and shelters .  what ever kind you want you do not need to fence the entire property with 2x4 horse wire.  that's over kill and just to darned expensive.  my 60 acres is fenced with a 48"? woven wire with 2 strands of barbed wire on top and it has held horses, cattle, goats, sheep and a couple of mules over the years.  I have an area up around the house that I call the 'goat pen' and that is where the chicken house, barn and a couple of smaller pens are all inside the perimeter of that pen.  the goat pen is made up almost entirely of cattle panels so is pretty secure.  my animals have free range of the entire 60 acres all day but sleep in the goat pen at night.  no they are not locked in at night but they know they are safe and that's where they stay.   if I ever need them during the day I never have to hunt for them, I just go out back and holler for them.  remember me, i'm the one that feeds them so its not hard to get them to come back to the house.  in my opinion the fence you have proposed is to far from the house for the safety of the animals and for your convenience in caring for them. would be ok for cattle but not so much for goats, sheep or poultry.  sit back and decide what you want to do with the critters you want and then decide about fencing and out buildings.


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## greybeard

_"need to take a step back and ask just what do you want to do with these goats you want to get."_


As well as a long range plan or vision of what you really want to do with the entire property.
What you want it to be, when you are completely done with it.

I had intended to touch on this aspect in another pasture thread but I will now as well.
You, like myself, are not a youngun anymore. You don't want to be out there in your 70s or 80s building or repairing fences because you didn't do the utmost you could have 10 years earlier.  The same with weed and brush eradication. Maybe on a small place but dang sure not on 100 acres..


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## Baymule

My two cents worth; build their shelter/barn and a pasture with a small holding pen up close to the house. build an alley toward the far reaches of the property with pastures leading off of it, put in 16' gates for swing room for tractors and such. Take them to a pasture in the mornings and put them up at night where they can be locked up in the barn. Get a couple of LGDs.....here we go on another adventure!


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## greybeard

Remember...


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Regarding



greybeard said:


> Isn't that area immediately next to the dog/quail wildlife place? ... To me, it looks as if you may have over estimated the highlighted parcel at 30 acres.



Yes.  The dog/quail place is immediately to the east of the eastern boundary of the south tract and the southeastern part of the main tract.  As for the acreage, I was going by what the Logan County Tax Assessor web site said was the measurement of the south tract, namely 29.67 acres.  (See https://www.arcountydata.com/parcel.asp?item=CB2AF&Page=1&countycode=LOGTAX ).

Regarding



goatgurl said:


> I think before we spend all your money on fencing we need to take a step back and ask just what do you want to do with these goats you want to get. pets, milk, meat?





greybeard said:


> As well as a long range plan or vision of what you really want to do with the entire property.  What you want it to be, when you are completely done with it.



that is what my wife and I are still trying to figure out.  Why I even considered goats in the first place are these 2 reasons: (1) for many years my wife has wanted goats, I think because she thinks baby goats are so cute.  But the goats also represented a way of life that we wanted to try.  (2) Miss @goatgurl made a wonderful suggestion: "_first I vote that you spend a chunk of money and fence the perimeter of your property and go find you a herd of meat goats. give them the run of the place and in a couple of years they will have all your little trees and greenbriers cleaned up. then sell them at a tidy profit and enjoy your nice clean property. after they have it cleaned off its easier to keep tidy. your going to hurt yourself with that tractor if your not careful._"  That seemed to make a lot of sense to let the goats eat all of the overgrowth off instead of having to mow it all down.  So that is what started me asking about fencing, etc., and how to make the pasture goat proof.

I have read your postings, Mr @greybeard, on "Making a Pasture ... and Keeping It Managed ( https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/making-a-pasture-and-keeping-it-managed.38164/ ), so I know what you mean by needing a plan.

As I mentioned in response to the post



Mike CHS said:


> I might have to go back and read again but I don't remember what your short term goal is.



my short-term goal was simply to have someone bale all of the hay off the 80 acres of good pasture and clear off the overgrown pasture, and then come up with a long-term plan.  But once I had someone mow the 80 acres and so little hay was baled that they were not going to do it again, at least without some changes, then I was faced with not having that short term plan work out.  While searching for an answer for pastures, that was when I stumbled across Miss @Baymule's funny posts "I Hate Green Briars!", which led me to join the forum.  (You can all blame her for my being here now!)  Then I posted my initial post "What Do I Do With 100 Acres of Pasture?"  I received all kinds of wonderful advice.  Once I learned about the existence of farm journals, then I moved all of my postings here.  Amazingly, I am still receiving all kinds of wonderful advice.

I think my best short-term plan is to mow the overgrown pasture, even if it takes the rest of the summer.  Once that is done, then I need to learn all I can about goats and their care.  Then and only then will I worry about fencing and buildings and all the other stuff that goes with keeping livestock.

I want to thank everyone for your helpful suggestions.  I feel like I am among professional golfers and I am a duffer who barely knows which end of the club to hold.    To every one of you who have commented on my posts, I have "followed" you on BYH, so I will get notified when you post anything.  (Remember, I am a stalker -- just ask Miss @goatgurl!)  I want to learn as much as I can from you pro golfers.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

We blame Bay for LOTS of things! She's an enabler you know.

I think you hold BOTH ends of the club! One end when you take it out and the other end when you use it, then the first end again when you put it back .... unless you have a caddy.


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## Mike CHS

The majority of us on here were in the same boat that you are in now so we do know what you are going through. I think your plan to do perimeter fence is a good one but after that I would start building paddocks closer to your house and radiate outward from there. It takes more money for all of that cross fencing but with the smaller ruminants, you need more control for good use of your pastures.  I only have around 16 acres in pasture and in prime grass season my herd couldn't keep up with the grass but they eat enough I was able to top the woody stems at a pretty good clip with my relatively small tractor.  I cut all 6 of my paddocks in about 4 hours which isn't bad and we have had 40 sheep on that 16 acres before we started taking some to market.

It's kind of nice to work on pieces of a plan and you have a good bunch of people on here that don't mind spending the time to help.  I don't know how many people on here do a lot of cross fencing but I think for smaller livestock probably a good number do.


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## greybeard

I can't imagine not having cross fences. They make life so much easier.


----------



## Latestarter

Have to echo what was already brought up... you need to have a "reason" for getting the goats and know what their end purpose is going to be. It sounds like initially they were to be pets for your better 1/2, and then their use got expanded to clear fields for you. 

I also think that pasture you've marked out would be better utilized to run some steers in. Adult steers will not be bothered by coyotes. Goats would be better kept closer to your home and outbuildings for safety at night and for ease of care during the day. You can then cross fence in additional pastures, expanding outwards to rotate them through over time. I presently have 13 goats on ~1 acre of fenced area and they are basically able to keep it controlled. Until the recent dearth of rain, I still had to mow it to knock down the herbs they didn't prefer. I have 4 other pastures delineated, with gates set to open on to them, that I haven't fenced yet.The first 2 are also about an acre each & the rest, larger. But all are around my home which sets right in the center.

You'll want to keep the goats in a very small confined area for a while (several months most likely) so they become accustomed to you and will come to you (for food/treats) when called. When you let them out, they have to NOT be afraid of your approach, or you'll be in a world of hurt as they scatter to all directions on the compass looking for their next delicious bite. You'll be amazed how much ground they can cover and how quickly they can scatter. Once you have a herd routine established, it becomes much easier. I can now let all 13 of mine outside their fenced area and I monitor them with a stick/staff to direct them where I want them to go or stop them from going where they want to go but I don't want them to go.

They know where their water is, inside the fence and further, inside their night pen, so after foraging for an hour or two, they head toward water and that's when I "guide" them all back inside the fence and close the gate. After I finish that fencing, I won't have to monitor them any longer and will put water in those pastures for them. They will still however spend the night up close to the house in their night pen/the barn (when I get it built).


----------



## greybeard




----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks to all for your inputs.  You folks have given me a lot to think about.  It certainly makes sense to have cross fencing for 30 acres.  I think what I will do is simply mow the back pasture to clear out all of the brush as best as I can, then start learning as much as I can about taking care of farm animals, primarily goats.  Once I learn that, then I'll come back and get advice on fencing.

In the near term, my wife and I are clearing out around the north pond.  We make about 10 feet of progress a day clearing the vines, small trees, and MIss @Baymule's nemesis, green briars.  I know, 10 feet a day isn't much.  But we are give out in this heat after about 2 hours, and besides, we don't have a boss over us -- we are retired, damn it!  (Never mind what you folks, such as @babsbag and others, who said they work harder in retirement than they did before retiring!)

Once we finally get the pond cleared, then I will post before and after pictures.  In the meantime, I will be stalking for awhile (currently on @Latestarter's journal on page 24), so I won't be providing comic relief that much on this journal.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I will be stalking for awhile (currently on @Latestarter's journal on page 24)


 OK, see you in a month, there are currently 505 pages in his journal!


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## Latestarter

So what's wrong with reading a good novel? Hmmmmmmmmm   ETA: And keep in mind, they are not all my posts!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Latestarter said:


> And keep in mind, they are not all my posts!



I know!  It makes it an adventure -- sort of like a treasure hunt -- to read these different posts for folks like yourself!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Yep these journals are the wikipedia of herd/homestead life. Learn a TON of stuff from various people asking advice and getting it from the "been there, done that" posters.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

    I have been busy reading @Latestarter's journal (up to page 141), so I have not posted much.  But today I thought I would.

    After watching plenty of chainsaw safety videos (and I am glad I did), I finally decided that today was the day I would use the chain saw.  Wow, what a difference it made!  I made more progress in 45 minutes than we had in 2 days using the reciprocating saw and loppers/pruners.  The bad news is that because I am so doggone fat (about 40 lbs overweight) that when I bend over or squat I find it hard to breath.  Imagine having to hold your breath for 30-45 seconds while sawing.  After doing that for 45 minutes, I was completely give out!  Still, it was so much more satisfying to see more progress in 45 minutes than in 2 days previously.  I am hoping to finish in the next 2-3 days, if I can learn to hold my breath longer.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Are you cutting for firewood or just taking down trees that are where you don't want them? 

I don't have the breathing problem but bending over and cutting up a tree is rough on my back. That is why I got forks with the tractor. I should be able to lift and balance the logs at a height that is comfortable for me. Of course that means I'll be transporting them up by the barn to be cut to 16" lengths. I want to handle it as few times as possible and if I cut it out at the edge of the woods I then have to put them in a conveyance of some sort and unload to the splitter before stacking cutting to length by the barn takes out 1 step.


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## Latestarter

Gosh Tx Aggie, I wish I had your problem (weight), I doubt you'd wish to have mine... I'm better than 100 pounds over my ideal weight. Having quit smoking back in Sept 2010, I breath much better and have no problem bending over, but my back, knees and sometimes ankles can be a real problem with swelling and joint pain. I sometime think about it when moving feed bags (50# each) That essentially, I'm always carrying 2 of those around, and how much better I'd feel and move if I "dropped them". I'm trying.

Glad to hear the chain saw is helping you. Always better to use the right tool for the job you're doing.

Bruce, now that you have the FEL, wouldn't it be faster/easier to drop the tree, cut to 16" lengths right there, stack in the FEL, and then move to the splitter? Seems to me that would be the more sensible way since you're already cutting when you drop the tree, might as well do all of it right then, rather than moving long logs to then start cutting again. It would also keep the slash/trash/sawdust etc out in/near the woods rather than in your yard by the barn.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Regarding



Bruce said:


> Are you cutting for firewood or just taking down trees that are where you don't want them?



just cutting them down.  When my wife and I were looking for properties, most of the houses we saw had fireplaces or wood burning stoves.  But we ended up buying this place, with 60+ acres of timber, and we have a propane type fireplace!  Can't even use the stuff to heat the house!  Oh, well.

Regarding 

_


Latestarter said:



			my back, knees and sometimes ankles can be a real problem with swelling and joint pain
		
Click to expand...

_
I hope your joint pain gets better.  About the only joint pain I have is arthritis setting up in my left elbow, but so far it doesn't slow me down much.  But this 40 lb spare tire around my waist really makes it hard to breath whenever I bend over or squat.  Maybe I should take the chainsaw to my waist!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

Handle by hand, the cut pieces as few times as absolutely necessary.
Cut trees down.
Delimb.
Cut log to maximum length your tractor can handle & drag or carry it to splitter.
Cut to length at splitter and split unless it needs to season before splitting.
1. place on splitter,
2.then stack the split pieces.
3. carry in the house as needed.

No sense making that a 4-5-6 step operation for cut pieces. It's strenuous  enough just pickin up the cuts and getting them on the splitter.

(For a nominal fee, I'll bring you a breeding pair of young beaver......next year you won't have to repeat what you're doing now)


----------



## Bruce

Latestarter said:


> Bruce, now that you have the FEL, wouldn't it be faster/easier to drop the tree, cut to 16" lengths right there, stack in the FEL, and then move to the splitter? Seems to me that would be the more sensible way since you're already cutting when you drop the tree, might as well do all of it right then, rather than moving long logs to then start cutting again. It would also keep the slash/trash/sawdust etc out in/near the woods rather than in your yard by the barn.


Yes and no? If I cut it at the woods I then have to pick each piece up and stack it in the bucket. Then I have to take it out of the bucket back at the barn, split and stack. 3 moves, 2 are full rounds. If I cut it at the splitter I only have to pick it up and put it down once. Then take it off the splitter table and stack it. 2 moves, 1 is full rounds. But yes there would be all the sawdust, and chainsaw noise! up by the house. Plus I can carry more wood "whole" on the forks that I can carry in "rounds" in the bucket. Fewer trips back and forth. 

Ideally I would have a 3 point or gas splitter that I could take out with me and "split wood cages" I could fill on the spot. I could take the wood off the splitter and stick it in the cage then use the forks to bring that up by the barn. Sit it down to dry and move it to the landing at the porch as needed. The forks have a weight limit of 500 pounds which is about 1/4 cord of hardwood. What I need now are a bunch of 3.5'x4' pallets I can modify into those cages. I have one I can test with. Not sure where to find more. Just to be safe (and for easier traveling from the woods) I probably want 5 cages per cord, 20 for the 4 cords I burn/year. 

Guy came by about 9:30 and replaced the coupling, no more leak. BUT he noticed the upper BIG bolt on the right side of the hoe was backed out. No washer or nut on the other side. Too bad he didn't notice that last night, he could have brought the nut and washer with him. Gotta wonder how those came off. Either they weren't properly tightened (and backed off 2"??) Or maybe they were not there? He might steal them from another tractor as he did to get the coupler. Maybe that happened with my tractor and someone forgot to replace them? 


I don't think the beavers would stay long @greybeard, no running water.


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## greybeard

Most of the time, the water at my pond don't run either. Beaver hate running water in a pond and if one is serious about trapping one, they will create a trickle of water somewhere and make their set there.......that unique sound will be the 1st place beaver will go to when they emerge at twilight and where ever it is, they'll work to plug it off..


----------



## Pastor Dave

Latestarter said:


> Gosh Tx Aggie, I wish I had your problem (weight), I doubt you'd wish to have mine... I'm better than 100 pounds over my ideal weight. Having quit smoking back in Sept 2010, I breath much better and have no problem bending over, but my back, knees and sometimes ankles can be a real problem with swelling and joint pain. I sometime think about it when moving feed bags (50# each) That essentially, I'm always carrying 2 of those around, and how much better I'd feel and move if I "dropped them". I'm trying.



Joe, I was advised to go on Keto or low  carb diet to help with my BP. I am abt 50# over what is healthy. When I began to follow the diet, my inflammation decreased real quick. Green tea supposed to be good for inflammation too, and probiotics can help with better digestion along with plenty of water to flush out everything. Just some things you probably have heard a hundred times.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Calling All BYHers,

    I need some advice regarding leasing my pastures for hay production.  (Miss @farmerjan, since you bale hay on leased land, please weigh in, but others feel free as well.)  I finally contacted the guy that baled the hay from my pastures back in June to see if he would be interested in leasing my pastures for hay production.  He was interested.  We discussed a few ideas, but I told him I wanted to get some input from you folks before we signed an agreement.  To provide some guidelines for recommendations, I am willing to sign a multiyear agreement and I am not going to ask for any bales of hay, so whatever income I derive from it will be in the form of cash.  I plan not to lease the south pasture that is currently overgrown -- I will hold that in reserve in case I want to grow some forage for farm animals.  So what kind of sage advice can you folks provide me regarding reasonable terms for the lease?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Pastor Dave

Guys I know or have worked for are on their own land, but I heard a guy say the other day that he leased a hay field for $150-175/acre. I don't know if that was for the season or what time frame that involved.


----------



## greybeard

Pastor Dave said:


> Guys I know or have worked for are on their own land, but I heard a guy say the other day that he leased a hay field for $150-175/acre. I don't know if that was for the season or what time frame that involved.


That, would be a little high per acre/per year rate for this area.
What one can get for any hay  field is only whatever someone is willing to pay for it, and the lessee is going to go by what the field is realistically capable of producing. Since it's going to be a strictly cash deal (no share of hay) and the terrain in that area doesn't look like there's a lot of competition from row croppers, I suspect the lease rate is going to be rather low, considering the lessee is going to have to rejuvenate the field to get it to producing good cuts again. 

There's maps, charts, formulas and all kinds of USDA/NASS data on what ground leases for in any given state, but in the end, everything is local and it all depends on 'the deal'


----------



## goatgurl

i'm no help, we always traded the baling for some of the hay for our animals.  db would cut, bale and store the hay in his barn and then deliver 2 round bales to my house every couple of weeks all winter.  worked well for me.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

What a difference a drop of 10 degrees F makes!  We have been working on clearing out the overgrowth and excess trees around the pond every morning.  Until yesterday morning, the most we both could work was 1-2 hours before we were wiped out from the heat and humidity (what most of you folks do before breakfast, I am sure).  But yesterday it was 10 degrees cooler in the morning and lower humidity, so we managed to put in 5 hours before quitting around 1:30 PM.  It helped that I finally bought some chains that I plan to use to anchor the tractor to the trailer later this month when I take it to have a grapple installed.  The tractor and the chains made easy work of dragging the trees from off the dam down to the brush piles.  So all that we lack now is moving a few small brush piles off the dam, and then, once I get the grapple installed, moving all of the cleared brush from around the pond into one giant brush pile to burn!  Woohoo!

    Now, I need help on a topic (one of many, in fact) that I know so many of you already know about: with only a little over 4 months left in the year, I need to learn as much as I can about filing federal taxes with farm income and loss, such as including as either expenses or as depreciating assets the different pieces of equipment I have bought to help around the farm (tractor, trailer, JD Gator, chainsaw, etc.).  What would you folks recommend I read to prepare for filing taxes?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Mike CHS

I'm sure someone will offer some insight but I don't have it.  Our CPA has a reasonable fee to work up our taxes but we provide all expenses into categories including mileage to purchase items for the farm so she just has to transfer the numbers.  She maintains ongoing depreciation for items already purchased and we provide any costs involved on any purchases she doesn't already have.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Missing or hidden farm journals.

I am compiling a list of the farm journals for several members of BYH and have been unable to locate such journals for the following members (listed in no particular order).  Could anyone tell me where to find these journals, if they exist?

+ @frustratedearthmother
+ @babsbag
+ @Southern by choice
+ @Baymule
+ @Goat Whisperer
+ @NH homesteader
+ @greybeard
+ @farmerjan
+ @Mini Horses

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @babsbag,

    While I am still looking for your journal, I have been meaning to ask you if you have been impacted by all of the fires in Northern California.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

What Mike said.
It can be pretty daunting to do farm taxes yourself and I don't try to do it myself.
Just keep every receipt, get a GOOD filing system set up  with plenty of notations regarding what for and why. (a shoebox is not a filing system....nor is the dash or console of your pickup truck)

I do not and probably will not have a BYH 'journal'.


----------



## Southern by choice

I tagged you.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Missing or hidden farm journals.
> 
> I am compiling a list of the farm journals for several members of BYH and have been unable to locate such journals for the following members (listed in no particular order). Could anyone tell me where to find these journals, if they exist?
> 
> + @frustratedearthmother



I don't have a real journal on this site... I'm "hiding" it on the sister site SufficientSelf.com   
https://www.sufficientself.com/threads/frustratedearthmothers-journaling-journey.12713/

I'm waiting for the awards to start rolling in because it is SOOO exciting, lol.  NOT...

I do have a bit of a journal here that chronicles the journey of acquiring a new LGD, Cowboy.  He's an Anatolian Shepherd and livestock guardian extraordinaire!  And, a bit of a rebel/clown/migraine inducer!  His journal is here:
https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/cowboy-and-friends.33592/


----------



## Baymule

I don't have a journal, just a lot of posts scattered on BYH, TEG and SS. I'll look up some links and post them for you. Gotta go feed the critters now.


----------



## goatgurl

hope the pond bank cleanup is going well.  truly enjoying the cooler weather myself.


----------



## Baymule

this ought to keep you busy awhile. LOL


https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/mom-fell-sugery-hospital-and-nursing-home.14131/


https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/we-won-the-bid-bought-the-farm.15593/

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/mom-went-to-assisted-living.15723/

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/call-1-800-com-plain.15782/


https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/signed-papers-on-house-today.16053/

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/mobile-home-goddess.16253/

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/buyer-for-our-house-southern-style.16334/

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/baymules-2015-garden-from-raw-land.16897/

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/mom-is-in-hospice-care.17342/

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/i-killed-my-tractor.17453/

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/barn-poles.17498/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/new-pyrenees-puppy.30587/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/hawg-hut-or-goat-or-sheep-or-dhs-new-digs.32088/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/feeder-pigs.32154/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/baymule-finally-has-sheep-babies.32194/

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/dh-having-open-heart-surgery.17671/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/barn-and-new-porch.32273/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/non-climb-2-x4-horse-wire-fence.32922/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/trip-is-a-sheep-guardian.32758/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/paris-has-begun-lamb-training.33844/

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/baymules-2016-garden.18914/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/new-grand-baby.34463/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/we-almost-lost-parker.35174/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/dh-shoulder-replacement-surgery.35300/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/feeder-pigs-2017.35395/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/making-a-pasture.36612/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/our-polly-is-gone.36767/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/baymules-pigs-2017-2018.36803/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/baymule-3rd-lambing.37110/

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/baymules-2017-garden-thread.20303/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/baymule’s-pigs-2018-herefords.37448/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/our-parker-is-gone.38178/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/introducing-beaux.38201/

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/trip-got-snake-bit.22180/

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/baymules-500-pound-boar.38333/


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## Bruce

Gee Bay, busy much??


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## goatgurl

you sir aggie are a glutton for punishment but at least you won't be bored for a while.


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## Baymule

He_ said_ he wanted to read journals. I don't keep one, preferring to start a new thread when the subject changes. After all, it was my thread I Hate Greenbriars, that brought him to this forum!


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> he tractor and the chains made easy work of dragging the trees from off the dam down to the brush piles.


Worse part of that is having to get off the tractor to hook up the chains, then do it again once you get the trees to the pile...unless you have a helper.
I have a couple sets of log skid tongs I sometimes use. Only have to get off to initially get them on the log...they'll come loose easy enough by themselves on the other end when I get where I'm going.


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## babsbag

@Senile_Texas_Aggie  The only journal I have on BYH is the building of my dairy. 

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/jumping-the-moon-dairy-things-i-should-have-known.31123/

As far as the fires, I have not personally been impacted other than by days upon days of smoke and ashes; the Carr fire came within about 10 miles of our home.  The farmer's markets have slowed way down as have many of the local businesses that are not critical for day to day life and many are struggling.  I have not visited any of the burnt out areas, I think that I don't want to see that much devastation and it is hard to wrap my head around 1000 homes being lost. It is just heartbreaking.


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## farmerjan

I do not have a journal either, just make comments etc. on others journals mostly.  And the thread that I started about Retiring - Social Security - and Medicare....


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks to all for your comments and letting me know where I can find your different posts.  I definitely will have a lot to read over the next few months.

Well, the cool weather has left and it's back to being really hot again.  I am glad that we finished the pond when we did.  Yesterday I took the tractor to Alma Tractor & Equipment to have them install a 3rd function valve and a grapple so that we can more easily move the brush piles to a big burn pile.  We will also be able to move a lot of rubbish (old appliances, patio furniture, etc.) that the previous owners left in the woods behind the pond so that we can haul it off to some scrap iron places.  I am also having dealer fix the occupant safety switch so that I don't have to place a wrench between the seat and the switch so the engine will start.  I am also going to have them replace the canopy.  After the tractor is complete, I am hoping I can go back to mowing those overgrown pastures.

I went to the shop a little while ago to work on our John Deere Gator 825i.  It started running rough a couple of weeks ago, as in it seems that one or more of the cylinders often aren't firing (and considering that it is a 3-cylinder engine, they definitely need to all be firing!).  It runs rough at all engine speeds and engine temperatures.  I am not sure if one or more of the plugs are fouled, the air filter is clogged, there is bad gas, low fuel pressure (it's electronic fuel injection), or something else.  Before I started to look at it, I noticed that the rocking chair that had come apart needed gluing.  I happened to buy a pipe clamp kit at Lowe's yesterday, so I decided to glue the chair first before looking at the Gator.  By the time I finished gluing the chair, I was drenched in sweat.  So I am inside cooling off, and will go back outside to see if I can figure out what's wrong.  You folks have any suggestions as to what might be wrong?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I happened to buy a pipe clamp kit at Lowe's yesterday, so I decided to glue the chair first before looking at the Gator. By the time I finished gluing the chair, I was drenched in sweat. So I am inside cooling off, and will go back outside to see if I can figure out what's wrong. You folks have any suggestions as to what might be wrong?
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


Yes I know what's wrong. It's August.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

greybeard said:


> Yes I know what's wrong. It's August.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Baymule said:


> He_ said_ he wanted to read journals... After all, it was my thread I Hate Greenbriars, that brought him to this forum!



Miss @Baymule is right -- I was searching for information on pastures and her thread came up on the search results.  The title alone got my attention, and once I started reading I found it so funny.  (A great deal of the humor was that my wife and I had just had the same experience on a much smaller scale when we cleaned out from around our gate, which was full of green briars.)  From there I decided to join this forum.

Regarding



greybeard said:


> they'll come loose easy enough by themselves on the other end when I get where I'm going.



I am afraid it is way above my Texas Aggie I/Q, but how do they come loose by themselves?  (I do happen to have a helper.  Actually, my wife provides me adult supervision! )

Regarding



babsbag said:


> As far as the fires, I have not personally been impacted other than by days upon days of smoke and ashes; the Carr fire came within about 10 miles of our home. The farmer's markets have slowed way down as have many of the local businesses that are not critical for day to day life and many are struggling. I have not visited any of the burnt out areas, I think that I don't want to see that much devastation and it is hard to wrap my head around 1000 homes being lost. It is just heartbreaking.



Miss @babsbag, I just looked at http://fire.ca.gov/general/firemaps and see that the area covered by the Carr fire is huge!  I see Anderson is south of Redding, so I guess you are a bit west of Anderson.  I am so glad you haven't been directly affected by the fire, but I am sorry for all of the businesses being hurt.  I hope you make it through safely.

Regarding



farmerjan said:


> ... the thread that I started about Retiring - Social Security - and Medicare....



I have read that thread, Miss @farmerjan.  (In fact, I have read most of your recent posts, looking for your journal.)  That was an interesting discussion.

Thanks again to all.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> to have them install a 3rd function valve and a grapple


I was originally going to get a grapple on my tractor until I found out the cost. $1,300 (IIRC) JUST for the 3rd function! I was going to get forks too so I just got those. Not nearly as good for grabbing piles of stuff or picking up a log but I won't do much of the first and can get the forks under the trees once felled, limbed and snaked out into the open.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Before I started to look at it, I noticed that the rocking chair that had come apart needed gluing. I happened to buy a pipe clamp kit at Lowe's yesterday, so I decided to glue the chair first before looking at the Gator.


Which reminds me of a T shirt I saw on a teen once:
"It's not that I have ADHD its
LOOK! a BUNNY!!!!


I don't think I have ADHD but I wouldn't care to count how often I've gone to do something, noticed something else that needs doing and of course it won't take long and by the time I do that a few more times, the original project is an orphan.


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## Mike CHS

That seems normal for me.


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## Bruce

Maybe it happens more to people whose "To do" list is WAY longer than they can ever accomplish. And new high priority things added daily.


----------



## Goat Whisperer

Just saw that you tagged me 

NH homestead has unfortunately left BYH  

I share a journal with SBC. 
(Same farm)


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I am afraid it is way above my Texas Aggie I/Q, but how do they come loose by themselves? (I do happen to have a helper. Actually, my wife provides me adult supervision!


They hold, as long as there is tension from a load. As soon as the log or trunk is dropped, there is no longer tension imparted thru the scissor action that is above the pivot point. Every once in awhile, I have to jiggle the bucket to make them come loose, but not often.


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## Baymule

Bruce said:


> I don't think I have ADHD but I wouldn't care to count how often I've gone to do something, noticed something else that needs doing and of course it won't take long and by the time I do that a few more times, the original project is an orphan.



I thought that is how EVERYBODY does things! You mean to tell me there is another way of doing things? It must be really boring.


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## greybeard

Keep your eyes on the prize........stay the course and stay with the vision.
Everything else, is just a time trap.


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## Wehner Homestead

Following along.


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## Bruce

Baymule said:


> I thought that is how EVERYBODY does things! You mean to tell me there is another way of doing things? It must be really boring.





greybeard said:


> Keep your eyes on the prize........stay the course and stay with the vision.
> Everything else, is just a time trap.



Bay, apparently there is!


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## Baymule

Bruce said:


> Bay, apparently there is!


I may have too many irons in the fire, but at least I'm never bored. LOL


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## babsbag

Never ever will I be bored...even if all my goats were to disappear...I have too many hobbies.


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## babsbag

Never ever will I be bored...even if all my goats were to disappear...I have too many hobbies.


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## goatgurl

"he said he wanted to read my journal"  and that my dear @Baymule is why he is a glutton for punishment, because he wants to do all that reading.  not that its not enjoyable just that there is a lot of it.  but hey he made it thru latestarters so he has to be one tough cookie.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thought I would provide some before and after pictures of the dam along the north pond (the one visible from our house).

Before (northern bank of pond)



 


 
After (starting at the northwest corner and going clockwise around the dam)



 


 




The tree my wife is standing next to is easily visible from the front porch.  The sun rose over the top of the tree when we first moved in April 17.


 


 


 


 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## frustratedearthmother

Beautiful view!  Your hard work is paying off.


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## RollingAcres

Beautiful!


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## RollingAcres

goatgurl said:


> "he said he wanted to read my journal"  and that my dear @Baymule is why he is a glutton for punishment, because he wants to do all that reading.  not that its not enjoyable just that there is a lot of it.  but hey he made it thru latestarters so he has to be one tough cookie.


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## Baymule

Your pond is beautiful, I love the view! We wish we had one, so I have to live vicariously through those who have ponds!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

A pond is something I have always wanted.  When I was a kid, we lived in a small town and never had a pond. I would sometimes visit my grandparents (Mom's parents) and spend a week there in the summer.  They had a pond on their farm.  I loved that pond!  They kept a small jonboat down there and I would get in it and float out across the pond, paddling back and forth.  I vowed that when I grew up that I would own a place with a pond.  It took my wife and me 43 years to do so, but we finally got a place with a pond!

We are considering buying some park benches and placing them down there so we can go and visit under the shade of the trees and enjoy the breeze and the view.  Maybe we can buy some over the Labor Day weekend.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

Tractor Supply and other places have the picnic tables/benches with pipe frames and plastic top and benches. You might look at one of those and y'all could go picnic at the pond!


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## Baymule

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/sunny-point-picnic-table-with-two-benches-6-ft

It's $99


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## RollingAcres

That pond area would be a great picnic spot!


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## Mike CHS

Those kind of results makes all the work worth every bit of work.  Like others, the only thing I miss about our place is we can't have a pond.  Two were dug but they won't hold water.


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## frustratedearthmother

Mike CHS said:


> Two were dug but they won't hold water.


I've heard that pigs will seal a pond!


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## Mike CHS

frustratedearthmother said:


> I've heard that pigs will seal a pond!



We discussed that last year but one our neighbors tried that and it didn't work.  We have since found a few fishing spots so that one is covered now.


----------



## Latestarter

Great work there! Looks beautiful! You'll have that property in tip top shape in no time at all the way you're going   Wonder if there are any bass or catfish in the ponds...   One sure way to find out... Don't know if you or the Mrs. like fishing or eating fish... I like fishing but am not big on eating fresh water fish.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

The previous owner said that there are large mouth bass in both ponds.  I have yet to fish for them, but plan to do so soon, now that we can actually get down to the water and need not worry about snagging a lure on a bunch of limbs!


----------



## greybeard

Mike CHS said:


> We discussed that last year but one our neighbors tried that and it didn't work.  We have since found a few fishing spots so that one is covered now.


Bentonite. Should be pretty cheap in your area as most of it is mined over in Arkansas.


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


>


Nice work!


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## goatgurl

the pond bank looks great.  see what a ton of hard work can do.  you might contact the agg teacher at one of your local schools, boonville is the closest I guess.  they teach the kids welding and some carpentry work and maybe they could build you a bench or two.  personally I think you need to check craigslist and see if you can find a big swing, that would be a delight.  and I have just what you need to decorate the pond, maybe a duck or three, lol.


----------



## Bruce

Hey, there IS a pond in there! 



Baymule said:


> Your pond is beautiful, I love the view! We wish we had one, so I have to live vicariously through those who have ponds!


Look at his pond, it has water in it.


----------



## Wehner Homestead

@Bruce your pond will have water again, even if it takes all of the winter snow melting to fill it!


----------



## Baymule

Bruce said:


> Hey, there IS a pond in there!
> 
> 
> Look at his pond, it has water in it.


I AM looking at his pond, and admiring it too. Sure beats looking at_ your_ pond or a bucket of water.


----------



## RollingAcres

Baymule said:


> I AM looking at his pond, and admiring it too. Sure beats looking at_ your_ pond or a bucket of water.



Hahahaha! Bay you cracked me up every time!
But @Bruce has tadpoles in his pond...just sayin'...


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## Latestarter

Exactly! and we all know those tadpoles are well cared for too by the wife and daughter!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks to all for replying and commenting on the beauty of the pond.

Sorry to be a bit slow to respond -- we went to visit my mom and older sister in New Boston, TX, on the 2nd anniversary of my dad's death, and we just got back late yesterday (*).  While in Texarkana, TX, we visited Lowe's and bought a nice park bench that we plan to put on the bank of the pond some time soon.  I'll take pictures once we get it down there.

Miss @goatgurl, we would very much like to put some ducks on that pond.  Will the ducks fend for themselves, or will we need to have a coop for them like chickens to keep them safe from predators at night?  Will we need to feed them grain or bugs or something else?

Senile Texas Aggie

(*)    I hate to post my out-of-town plans in advance, as this forum and my journal are publicly visible on the web.  I don't think that anyone who is a member of the forum would do something nasty, but someone else -- even another senile Texas Aggie -- could figure out where we live and decide to pay a visit while we are gone.


----------



## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> (*) I hate to post my out-of-town plans in advance, as this forum and my journal are publicly visible on the web. I don't think that anyone who is a member of the forum would do something nasty, but someone else -- even another senile Texas Aggie -- could figure out where we live and decide to pay a visit while we are gone.



I'm with you on this @Senile_Texas_Aggie .


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I hate to post my out-of-town plans in advance, as this forum and my journal are publicly visible on the web. I don't think that anyone who is a member of the forum would do something nasty, but someone else -- even another senile Texas Aggie -- could figure out where we live and decide to pay a visit while we are gone.


I've been on internet boards since the 90s, have posted my real name, address, directions to my home, have posted when and how long I'd be gone and have never yet had anyone be brave (or stupid) enough to risk trying me on. Ain't skeered.





But yes, you've posted enough clues that it probably wouldn't take but a few minutes search to find out exactly where you live...

some of us might travel a good ways to sneak in and catch largemouth bass...


----------



## RollingAcres

Love the "gate always open" part GB.


----------



## Baymule

On www.theeasygarden.com sister site to BYH, a member posted that he was going to be gone for a week. I posted a thread in which I suggested that we post Chuck Norris jokes and substitute his @name for Chuck Norris's name. Of course, everybody piled in on that and when that poor guy got back home and turned on his computer, he had a whole lot of Alerts notifying him that he was missed while he was gone.....BWA-HA-HA


----------



## Bruce

greybeard said:


> some of us might travel a good ways to sneak in and catch largemouth bass...


Maybe you @greybeard, way too far for me!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Hello, all of my friends on BYH.

I haven't posted for awhile because of a visit from my wife's next older sister and her husband, who recently purchased an RV and so wanted to pay a visit to us.  We went to Branson, Mo, with them (their idea to go there).  My wife and I had never visited Branson, so we were willing to tag along.  I had the foresight to insist that my wife and I go in our own vehicle, as the idea of 4 people and 1 dog in a 34 foot RV with 1 shower and a hide-a-bed for my wife and me to sleep on, was not exactly my idea of fun.  I am glad we did that, as Branson was not a place I would ever want to visit again.  (If you don't like going to shows -- we don't -- then you won't like it that much, either.)  We left after 1 night.  My wife's sister and her husband stopped back by on their way back to their home in Texarkana, TX, for more visiting, so we have only been able to get back to our routine in the past few days.  My tractor is still in the shop having the grapple installed and the FEL bucket tilt internal leak fixed, so not much work around the farm.

One thing I have worked on are the lights in the shop.  At one time there were 6 mercury vapor lights installed, but by the time I bought it there were only 3, with the other 3 having been removed.  Then 1 of those 3 quit working, so I only had 2 overhead lights working.  I don't know about you folks, but I don't like mercury lights -- they take a while to come on, they flicker, and especially they buzz.  I decided to put up LED lights instead.  So I bought 2 LED shop lights at Lowes, just to see how they would work putting out enough light, intending on putting them in the middle section where there are no lights, and if those worked just fine, then add more, eventually replacing the 2 mercury vapor lights.  When I went to install the first LED light, I turned off all of the light switches (I did not turn off the circuit breaker -- none of the breakers is labeled in the main panel), got up on my 12 foot step ladder, and removed the cover box to expose the wires.  When I started to install the wires for the LED lights in the place where there was no longer a mercury vapor light, imagine my surprise when I touched the white wire with one hand while grounding myself to the metal circuit box -- I got bit!  "What the <<insert appropriate expletive here>>?"  I got my volt meter out, turned on the light switch for that light, and measured 220V from black to white.  "Mercury lights are 220V !?!?"  Yep, at least these are.  So now I am not sure how to wire up LED lights unless I buy some LED lights designed for 220V circuits, or I rewire the circuit to be 110V and replace the mercury vapor lights all at once.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Miss @Mini Horses and Miss @farmerjan, you 2 look like you are going to be impacted quite a bit by hurricane Florence.  Do you think you will be OK, or will you need to evacuate?  I was a bit worried about Mr. @Mike CHS but I saw elsewhere that he doesn't think he will be affected.  I even wonder if maybe Mr. @Bruce will be impacted, should the hurricane veer toward the New England area.  I hope all of you will be safe.

For what it is worth, I am currently lurking on one of you folks' journals -- I am about halfway through -- but unlike I did with Mr. @Latestarter, I will not say who it is until the end.  But don't worry -- I am sure that the previous folks that I spied on, namely Miss @Rammy, Miss @goatgurl, Miss @Ridgetop, and Mr. @Latestarter, will be able to send to you the names of their therapists that they are seeing to recover from the lurking, who will be able to help.  

Bye for now.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Mini Horses

Well, Mr Aggie, thank you for thinking of me.    I do feel that I will survive Flo without a great amount of problem.  I'm prepared for what WAS predicted and now, seems way less will arrive.  Happy for me, sad for those others getting her visit.

As to the circuit box, lights, being marked --  here's a hint.  Turn everything on.   Then go to the circuit box and cut off a breaker.  See what is no longer working..mark the breaker.  Of course, there way be an outlet you don't see as part of that circuit if nothing plugged in to stop working, but it's one way to identify.   Best -- have electrician test and mark.  AND you can cut main while you work.

Bet the jolt woke you up!  But dangerous way.


----------



## Mike CHS

Even with the shift in the storm track we don't expect anything except hopefully some rain at some point.  What family we have left in Charleston are already heading out of town so everyone is accounted for.  I spent so many years in hurricane that we stay prepped with or without a storm coming to town.


----------



## Bruce

We won't be seeing anything from Florence. WAY too far south and heading for GA and TN.

Regarding the LED shop lights. I have 2 dual 4' that I got at Costco. They are great. We have an energy saving program in the state paid with "fees" on electric bills and they use some of it to discount LEDs. Makes them VERY affordable.

A 220V circuit SHOULD have 4 wires (known as 3 wire since they don't count the ground) - 

common - white
ground - green
hot - red
hot - black
You can get 110V from that wire by capping off the red or black (usually the red). But if you don't have a need for 220V anywhere on that circuit I would also disconnect the red wire from the breaker in the box (cap it!).


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> and measured 220V from black to white. "Mercury lights are 220V !?!?" Yep, at least these are. So now I am not sure how to wire up LED lights unless I buy some LED lights designed for 220V circuits, or I rewire the circuit to be 110V and replace the mercury vapor lights all at once. Anyone have any suggestions?


Sounds like whoever originally wired in the 240v Mercury lights just switched one leg in order to turn them on/off.
You can do what Bruce suggested ONLY if you also have a neutral wire. (You cannot use ground for a neutral in an outbuilding!)
No neutral = no 120v.

Now, your next problem is that they used a white wire for one of their hot 120v legs, and white is always neutral, not hot.

Problem after that is your circuit will be unbalanced if you are tapping 120v off the existing 240V circuit to power your 120v led lights.

Seeing  a picture of the dist panel (with the cover off) where the breaker for the mercury lights are wired to the breaker would be helpful.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> A 220V circuit SHOULD have 4 wires (known as 3 wire since they don't count the ground) -
> 
> common - white
> ground - green
> hot - red
> hot - black


Not necessarily. Lots of 240V circuits are run with no neutral (white). Unless local code calls for it, neutral (what you call common) plays no role or function in a pure 240V single ph circuit.


----------



## Donna R. Raybon

Yeah, figure out what is what and label!  Never know when that info can come in handy.  We put ground fault breaker on circuit in bathroom, and circuit for outside of house outlet.  At the barn I had one on outlet I used to clip goats and disbudding kids.  

My father drummed into my head to pull breaker and have it in hand before touching wiring.  He lost a friend while rewiring house and another friend lost finger due to wedding ring arcing.  So glad you were not hurt!


----------



## Bruce

greybeard said:


> Not necessarily. Lots of 240V circuits are run with no neutral (white). Unless local code calls for it, neutral (what you call common) plays no role or function in a pure 240V single ph circuit.


That would be scary. Someone could use 2/12 wire and use both the white and black as hot. Easy to ASSUME it is a 110V circuit.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> That would be scary. Someone could use 2/12 wire and use both the white and black as hot. Easy to ASSUME it is a 110V circuit.


No one that is very familiar with electrical circuits ever assumes that.
It used to be done a lot on 240v circuits and still is allowed in some instances, tho not as often as in years past. The old rule was if white is used as a hot conductor, black tape has to be wrapped on the white wire at both ends  (and all junctions).
It is allowed in a 240v circuit and in 120v circuit where a light was switched from 2 different locations. I have that arrangment on my stairs, with a switch at the top and one at the bottom that both control a single light, and another similar setup entering the back door into the laundry room. 2 switches, one light. there are white wires in that circuit that are reidentified with black tape or black paint and are current carrying conductors.



 
The only time a neutral wire is required on a 240V circuit is somewhere like a kitchen range/oven where the burners are 240V and the lights and displays are 120V...same with a clothes dryer circuit.

_
A typical 240-volt, 30-amp circuit includes a double-pole circuit breaker, which has two terminals for the two hot wires. The wires usually are black or red, but one may be white if it is labeled as hot with a black or red stripe near each end. A 240-volt, 3-wire receptacle has three prongs (two hot and one ground) to accept a 3-prong plug. Plugs and receptacles for a 240/250-volt circuit can come in a number of configurations.

Note: New electric ranges and clothes dryers require circuits that provide 120 volts and 240 volts at the receptacle. These use four wires—black (hot), red (hot), white (neutral), and green (ground). The neutral wire is designed to carry an unbalanced load between the two phases of the circuit. The installation is similar to a 3-wire system but includes the fourth, neutral, wire that connects to the neutral bus bar in the panel and the neutral terminal on the receptacle._

Most people today, use 3 wires on 240v circuits to outbuildings or to equipment like a downhole (submersible) well pump, but stipulate red/black and green. hot, hot and ground.
The outbuilding will get it's own ground rod since national electric code forbids ground and neutral being bonded together any where except first means of disconnect after the service enters the house. (usually the main dist panel closest to the electric meter.

https://ask-the-electrician.com/nec-electrical-code-for-re-identifying-ungrounded-conductor/

One thing you CANNOT do, is use 3 white wires and re-identify 2 of them as hot conductors.






https://www.ecmweb.com/qampa/stumped-code-6


----------



## greybeard

SenileAggie...One thing you might consider, is using a step down (240v to 120v) transformer to power your 120V led lights. Leds don't draw much current so it shouldn't take a big honkin transformer to do what you need, but you will need to calculate the total load that the xformer will be supplying.


----------



## greybeard

Now that I have a bit more time, ...for Bruce..
https://classes4contractors.com/please-provide-the-proper-identification/
https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/95164/does-this-wiring-meet-the-nec-standards
http://www.ncwhomeinspections.com/Re-Identifying+white+conductors


From National Electric Code:


> 200.7 Use of Insulation of a White or Gray Color or with Three Continuous White or Gray Stripes
> 
> 
> 
> (C) Circuits of 50 Volts or More.
> 
> 
> 
> The use of insulation that is white or gray or that has three continuous white or gray stripes for other than a grounded conductor for circuits of 50 volts or more shall be permitted only as in (1) and (2).
> 
> 
> 
> (1) If part of a cable assembly that has the insulation permanently reidentified to indicate its use as an ungrounded conductor by marking tape, painting, or other effective means at its termination and at each location where the conductor is visible and accessible. Identification shall encircle the insulation and shall be a color other than white, gray, or green. If used for single-pole, 3-way or 4-way switch loops, the reidentified conductor with white or gray insulation or three continuous white or gray stripes shall be used only for the supply to the switch, but not as a return conductor from the switch to the outlet.





 



 
That white wire is also supposed to be re-identified as 'hot' (by paint or tape) at it's final termination point as well as in any openable junction box along the circuit.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Wow! So much helpful advice!  I feel so thankful!    Now for a bit more info.

Once I figured out that the light circuit was 220V instead of 110V, then that made figuring out which circuit breakers in the main panel controlled the lights, as 2 circuit breaks would be paired together.  Since there were only 3 pairs of circuit breakers paired together, that made finding the correct breaker fairly easy.  It turned out to be the first pair I tried, namely 1/3.  So now I don't have to worry about being shocked as easily now that I know the circuit breakers that control the lights.

As for the white wires, NONE of them were marked with black, red, or any other color.  ALL of them were just plain old white.  There were also no red wires in the box (which, given no red wire was why I was expecting white to be neutral, not hot, and thus 110V, not 220V).  I was unaware that it was acceptable to use white as a hot wire, even with a color marking, but had I seen such a color marking on the white wire, I might have been a lot more cautious and stopped and did some research, instead of getting shocked the way I did.

As for using step-down transformers, do those provide a neutral leg and a 110V leg, or would each leg be 55-60V?  I don't want anyone else to get shocked the way I did, so if they do not provide a neutral leg, then I may rewire the main panel to be 110V instead of 220V and replace all of the mercury vapor lights at once.

Again, thanks to everyone for all of your helpful comments.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## goatgurl

aggie I only have one piece of advice.   All Phase Electric, greenwood, ark.  nice guys, do good work and beats the heck out of electrocution


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> As for using step-down transformers, do those provide a neutral leg and a 110V leg, or would each leg be 55-60V? I don't want anyone else to get shocked the way I did, so if they do not provide a neutral leg, then I may rewire the main panel to be 110V instead of 220V and replace all of the mercury vapor lights at once.



Rewire to 120V is what I would probably do, as it would be the easiest, provided there are at least 3 wires in the existing romex or cableway wires. (2 conductors and a ground.) You will make one of the current conductors the neutral wire. Make sure you change the breaker to the appropriate size rating, since the current wire size is probably going to be larger capacity than what the amp load of your led lighting will be. (that's ok...you can use bigger wire...cannot use smaller ones)

As far as the transformer, I mentioned it IF you were wanting to keep some of your 240v lights at least temporarily. I'm unaware of any transformer that provides 120V without a neutral. What would be the point of doing so?

There is some wiring options with most Xsformers that have a 120v secondary. Many, allow you to tap 240v off the outputs, while also getting 120V with a neutral by how you connect the wires and windings.

Transformers that take 2 wire 240v and convert to 120v with neutral are pretty common, as they are used in and for lots of things.  A water heater powered by 240v that you want to connect to a timer but don't want to buy an expensive 240v timer?  Use a transformer. Most will give you at least 2 usable 120v connections.

240 to 120 transformers get their neutral by center tapping the output windings, which is the about the same thing the power companies do to provide your home with a neutral and 2 hot 120v lines to make up your 240v 200A service. (notice, most of the time, there are only 2 lines coming to the transformer for your home, but 3 lines come out and go to your meter and service loop)


For 240 to 120 with neutral:




The diagrams show L or H designations on the line (input) side, and X markings on the output side. For most, you connect x2/x4 which then becomes neutral. x1/x3 connected will be 120v output, but always stick with the instructions or schematic on the data plate of the transformer you end up with.


Other home user 240 to 120 transformers just come as a completely  enclosed unit, where you have 2 outlets on the front. (these are sometimes a bit noisy with an annoying transformer hum... )


----------



## farmerjan

God Bless electricians.....I will gladly pay them.  I hate electricity anywhere except where the lights and appliances work and I am terrified of it.  I don't even like the accidental shocks from electric fencing.... Never have to worry about me trying to change, fix, spice or anything else.


----------



## Bruce

greybeard said:


> Rewire to 120V is what I would probably do, as it would be the easiest, provided there are at least 3 wires in the existing romex or cableway wires. (2 conductors and a ground.)


Me too. If you have no need for 240V, convert. Those LEDs use so little power you could likely run every one of them on a single circuit replacing all the mercury vapor lights. Of course there is value in having lights on multiple circuits, you can still see if you have need to shut off one circuit.


----------



## greybeard

Psst..hey you..Yeah you... that smells like mud, wood chips  and tadpoles...
wanna buy some incandescents? I got the real thing here, not those chinese things...good Sylvannias from 10 years back before all those squiggly bulbs and all that energy saving crap got shoved down our throats. Just try one..go ahead, take it home and try it...bask it it's wonderful natural light and see if it doesn't bring back the days of your youth.  I'll be here tomorrow, and everyday..... 'cause I know you're gonna want more of 'em. I got cases and cases of 'em.
(tell your friends)


----------



## Bruce

Actually, no thanks. Not fond of the CFLs but love the LEDs. Have gotten rid of all the CFLs.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Thanks for your all of your suggestions.  I have decided to convert the circuit to 110V from 220V.  When I go to pick up my tractor from the dealer in Alma, AR, I will swing by Lowes and pick up 3 more LED shop lights.  Then one day I will open up the main panel and move the white wire of the 220V circuit from one phase to the neutral and hang all of the LED lights.  Miss @farmerjan, as Mr. @greybeard might say, "I ain't skeerd."  (Of course, there is one big difference between him and me -- he knows what he is doing and I don't!  Maybe I should be "skeerd"!)

Mr. @Bruce, sir, I am with you -- I don't like CFLs, either, and would use them last, given my choice of LEDs (first), then incandescent, then CFL).

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

As a friend once said to me "when working in a breaker panel, one had for the panel, one for your pocket"  Hard to fry yourself that way. Of course ASSUMING there is a main breaker in the box or outside by the meter, turning it off and having someone hold a flashlight (or use a headlamp) while you move the white wire from a breaker to the neutral bar is probably safer. No need to say "good luck", you got this!

No Costco near you? I would check prices on LED shop lights there and at Lowes. The ones I got were quality brand, Feit
https://www.costco.com/Feit-4'-Linkable-LED-Shop-Light-2-pack.product.100410429.html

They were sold individually though.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

No Costco, but there is a Sam's Club (redneck version of Costco).  Appropriately I am a member of Sam's Club.    They are just down the street from Lowes, so I will check them out as well.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

I think some places have both Sam's Club and Walmart. I don't think we have any Sam's Clubs in VT. We were the last state to fall to the Costco AND Walmart juggernauts.


----------



## Mike CHS

We had  both Sam's and Costco in Charleston, SC and the same here.  We are equal distance from Huntsville, Alabama and Nashville.  Both stores in Nashville are nicer with better selection.  Walmarts are everywhere but we try not to use them unless we have no other choice.


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> All,
> 
> Thanks for your all of your suggestions.  I have decided to convert the circuit to 110V from 220V.  When I go to pick up my tractor from the dealer in Alma, AR, I will swing by Lowes and pick up 3 more LED shop lights.  Then one day I will open up the main panel and move the white wire of the 220V circuit from one phase to the neutral and hang all of the LED lights.  Miss @farmerjan, as Mr. @greybeard might say, "I ain't skeerd."  (Of course, there is one big difference between him and me -- he knows what he is doing and I don't!  Maybe I should be "skeerd"!)
> 
> Mr. @Bruce, sir, I am with you -- I don't like CFLs, either, and would use them last, given my choice of LEDs (first), then incandescent, then CFL).
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


I hope you meant from one leg and did not really mean one phase. 
If there is any chance at all that your shop might be powered with 3 ph service, stop right now. Changing any wiring that may lead to anything above stray voltage  [.5-1volt] entering the neutral zone is among the most deadly mistakes that can be made, and it doesn't just affect your own service....affects surrounding residences and businesses as well. I cannot stress this enough. 


Considering everything else you've mentioned about the shop's electrical, DO make sure that panel  and it's circuits are properly grounded.
Neutral makes equipment and lighting work. Ground saves your ass. The 2 are not the same thing, especially in outbuildings that are fed from a breaker in the main dist panel in residence.

(IF (and only if)  your shop has it's own meter and service, then it's very possible neutral and ground buss bars are bonded together and code allows for that, but only in that 'first means of disconnect'.)

If you get a chance, and before you begin converting from 240v to 120v, & have the cover off that breaker panel, I'd like to see a picture of the wiring inside it. I would also like to see one of the data plates from the existing 240v  lighting fixtures.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

At the request of Mr. @greybeard, I have hereby included several pictures of my circuit box for your viewing pleasure.
First, the top half of the circuit panel:  
 .
Next, the bottom half of the circuit panel:   .
Next, a close-up of the ground bus bar.  The white wire in the foreground with the black tape on it is one of the hot legs of the lighting.   
Next, the neutral bus on the left side.  This is the bus to which I planned to attach the white wire of the lighting:  
Next, the neutral bus on the right side:   
Next, the mercury light info:  
Finally, outside of the shop, where the meter is.  Not shown is a backup generator (currently broken) that feeds wires through one of the conduits that is shown.     I think the meter is at the shop instead of the house because I think they built the shop first so that they would have a place to store all of the tools while they built the house.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Wow, that is a LOT of 240V circuits! Is there no panel at the house? Or do some of those run to the house panel? Though that would be weird, more likely there would be 1 going to a house panel but given the large ones are 50A, that doesn't seem likely.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

While the electrical wizards ponder the circuit box, I need some advice on how to handle a situation at the pond.  My wife noticed a tree that had its top broken off about 20 feet from the base.  It is on the top of the dam, so I need to do something about it.  First, here are two pictures of the tree.
Away from the broken top:  
Underneath the broken top:   

I am considering two options, leaning toward the second: (1) do a Humbolt cut on the side of the tree away from the pond (on the left side in the first picture).  Then do a backcut on the side of the pond.  When the tree starts to fall, run like my pants are on fire. (2) tie a rock to the end of a rope and throw the rock over the broken top part of the tree.  Then using the rope, haul a chain over the top of the broken top and connect the end of the chain to the tractor.  Pull with the tractor until the broken top comes free.

Any other ideas?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

I like #2. No telling where the broken top will go when the tree starts to fall since it is hung up in other branches.  Make it a LONG chain. Or maybe a LONG piece of low stretch line with a good breaking strength.

Or get out your tree climbing spikes, safety belt and chainsaw. Climb the tree and cut the broken part free.


----------



## greybeard

#2 here as well.
I just did this 2 seeks ago on a broken top but it wasn't as high up.






The elec dist box... 

What a mess.

The neutral coming into the panel  from the meter box is not marked with white tape as is required.
I don't see it as having very many 240v breakers at all, considering the size of your shop and the amount of acreage you have.
I could easily visualize a 240v air compressor, a 240v welder, 240v lighting, maybe a 240v grain bin blower. Perhaps a 240v water well being powered from that location instead or in addition to one powered from the house. And the shop may have been set up for 240v heat. 

I am curious about the low voltage wires I see there tho..the really small wires. I see one@ least 1 cable that is a specialty cable, with what looks to be 2 conductors #8 and multiple small multi colored conductors...that's cable that is used to provide both main power to and also control a device..one that turns on or off according to temperature requirements or pressure requirements. Pressure switch or thermostat and you would see a transformer somewhere if it is for a thermostat of some kind, like on a grain dryer or heater.

Before led, 240 lighting was the way to go in a large building. Remember, load vs voltage determines power used.  Any load that pulls 10 watts at 120v will pull only about 1/2 that with 240v.
https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/electric/watt-volt-amp-calculator.html

I'm not sure why they ran all the  neutral wires on both sides of the mains. Since the shop has it's own service, that would be allowed, since neutral and ground are supposed to be bonded together, but still, it's customary to run all the neutrals on one side, and all the bare or green ground wires on the other bus. Instead, there is a 3rd short bus bar off to the left side which is where they ran most of the green ground wires. That off-to-the-side ground bus is usually what you see in a sub panel, not a main dist panel. I do not/cannot see a bonding strip between ground and neutral tho. Might be there, and I just don't see it.
2 of several different ways you may see it be done.









I am *NOT* saying you need to install a bonding strap, but you might want to have an electrician take a look at that panel if you ever get one out there.  To me, it looks odd....like it was made up as a sub-panel fed from a different location's  main dist panel. But obviously was not since it is a metered box.


----------



## Bruce

I'm starting to think the same thing as @greybeard. Looks like a lot of "oddity" and it might be best to suck it up and pay an electrician for a couple of hours to make sure everything is understood. 

Clearly my thought that there were a lot of 240V circuits shines a light on the fact that I didn't grow up a farm boy  Didn't know about all those 240V farm equipment loads. And the only service panels I've looked in had separate ground bus bars so it doesn't seem odd to me to have the neutrals connected to the bar closest to the breaker.


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## greybeard

Add a good drill press, maybe some machining equipment as well to round out a full shop's manifest, and that doesn't include any heavy woodworking machines.


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## greybeard

Bruce said:


> And the only service panels I've looked in had separate ground bus bars so it doesn't seem odd to me to have the neutrals connected to the bar closest to the breaker.


Sub panels will have separate (unbonded) ground and neutral bars, but first means of disconnect  (main) panels will have the bonding somewhere and generally, even tho the 2 bars are bonded, everyone does try to still  keep the ground and neutral wires on separate bus bars in the main panel just to make things neat and easy to work with.


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## Bruce

The only shop tool I have that can run 240V is the table saw. I've not converted it though.

Bigger shop tools include:
Router Boss - uses a standard DeWalt plunge router.
19"/38" open arm drum sander
3 blade 13" DeWalt planer
10" table saw
Jointer
Dust collector


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

OK, everybody, I want all of you to roll your eyes.  Go ahead.  Have you done so?  Good.  The reason I wanted you to roll your eyes is that I am about to ask a question that will elicit that response from you, because you will think it is the dumbest question ever asked.  But I'm going to ask it anyway.

Some time this week I will get my tractor from the dealership with the new grapple.  Once I have the grapple I will be easily able to haul a lot of the brush that we have cut down and are continuing to cut down.  Now for the eye-rolling question: is it better to (1) have one HUGE burn pile, (2) have multiple small brush piles, (3) have one small brush pile and burn a little bit of the brush at at time.  I have enough acreage to have multiple small piles if needed, but I think I would like to keep the burned area to one circle instead of lots of circles.  But maybe buring off the grass is OK and provides potash, if nothing else, for the soil.

Comments?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Mike CHS

No eye rolls from me.  I try to keep a single burn pile at a time but there were times that I had several depending on how far I had to move the debris.  Now that we have almost all of our fences up I try to keep them of a size that I can start them and have it done in a short time so I can keep an eye on it.  I use a propane tank and burner to start my fires so it doesn't matter how green the wood is.  There is no right or wrong way on this one to me and by this time next year you won't be able to tell where the burn pile was.


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## greybeard

define 'small'....
this is one of about 18-22 piles I had.







Is burning good for the grass and soil?
All depends primarily on whether your soil is in need of Potash _ie_ ... Potassium. The best grass on my place is where there was once a burn pile.

My sister up the road from is skeered of 'big' fire and just builds little city girl fires she can watch while standing there with a rake or shovel.

My wife isn't skeered.




Go big or stay home.

24 hrs later..



I have already burned the piles on the left lower side of the picture but not the ones off to the right (east)



 

Yellow circles is where a big burn pile once was and all that is left is the remains before I went thru them and re-burned the remains and spread the ashes. There were, more than this, as I have since cleared more area to the NorthWest. 



 



It all depends on your skill set at containing/control fire, your comfort level, your risk appetite and the weather conditions.  No matter what, don't leave one unattended, meaning you go off for a road trip and it still smoldering.


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## greybeard

If you have a lot of dry grass when you are ready to burn, watch the humidity. Burn when humidity is high and preferably while dew is still on the grass. According to US and Texas Forest Service, humidity level is even more important than wind velocity.

You need a harrow of some kind for a variety of reasons. Disk or drag. Even a triangle shape drag made from old tires will allow you to control a grass fire most of the time. 
Tires will burn of course, but they are very difficult to get ignited


 
Keep the Forest Service's ph # handy whether you burn or not.


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## farmerjan

Agree with @greybeard ;  it depends on your comfort level on the burning, how far to move the stuff and if you want to get it done in smaller shorter burns or a bigger all day plus type of burn.  If you start it this fall, then by next spring you will barely notice the spots and the grass will really come back good.
Humidity is a real key, and we always used to burn when they were calling for some rain just to help keep the surrounding areas wet.  Once you get it going, it will take hurricane rains to put it out very fast, but a couple of showers, or a steady light rain will really help knock the chances of it spreading where you don't want it to be.


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## Bruce

greybeard said:


> define 'small'....
> this is one of about 18-22 piles I had.


@greybead is from Texas, everything is bigger in Texas!

I think you have good advice from @greybeard, @Mike CHS and @farmerjan 
Having never burned a pile before (and as you read in my journal) I figured what I had was plenty big enough. I doubt @greybeard could even see something that size and think it was a burn pile. And I burned when there was snow on the ground. Not a possibility for you but no permit needed here if there is snow on the ground.


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## Baymule

I like smaller burn piles that can burn in one day. If you have major land clearing as GB did, then you have the big piles. Sometimes here we get a pretty big pile, due to burn bans, but I like to get them started, burnt and out by nightfall. I don't want my fire to escape and go somewhere I don't want it to go. Dry grass around the fire will start a grass fire, best to drag it down like GB said.

The answer to your smart, not dumb question, is whatever size you are comfortable with.


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## Wehner Homestead

Baymule said:


> I like smaller burn piles that can burn in one day. If you have major land clearing as GB did, then you have the big piles. Sometimes here we get a pretty big pile, due to burn bans, but I like to get them started, burnt and out by nightfall. I don't want my fire to escape and go somewhere I don't want it to go. Dry grass around the fire will start a grass fire, best to drag it down like GB said.
> 
> The answer to your smart, not dumb question, is whatever size you are comfortable with.



X2!


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## CntryBoy777

I have both here.....constant and spots....small scars heal faster and green up an area for a season or 2....we have quite a few trees, so there are always limbs and branches falling....I will not tote limbs far....so, the amount to be burned is what fluctuates it.....oh, and I was always told to never build a fire under any conditions if ya don't have confidence in your ability to control it.....


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## greybeard

I do nowadays build some smallish piles and fires, but if I have a lot of small piles relatively close together, I prefer to push them into 1-3 bigger ones before lighting them off. The fewer I have burning, the less risk of letting one get out of control and nowadays, how much stuff I have to get rid of dictates the size anyway.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Calling all chainsaw experts!

My wife and I are currently thinning out the shrubs and trees along a small creek that is close to the drive.  (I'll post before and after pictures when we get finished.)  I have a Stihl MS 251 CB-E chainsaw whose chain needs sharpening, due to all of the trees I have cut.  I tried sharpening it yesterday using a 4 mil sized file.  Didn't work.  I looked at the Stihl web site for the specs on it, hoping that they would identify the size file I needed.  While they didn't specify the file size in terms that I could understand, they did have this for the chain: "OILOMATIC® CHAIN .325 RM3".  What does that mean?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

RM means Rapid Micro which is just one of Stihl's chain designations. .325 is the chain size.

Different tooth pitch and cutting profiles mean a higher or shorter cutting tooth and the higher the tooth, the bigger the file needs to be. On the cutting tooth, there should be a code number embossed. I think it's now 1 thru 8.
 A '2' for instance is the code number for a .325 chain and it takes a 3/16" file (4.8mm)




Picture came from how to find the right round file for your Stihl chainsaw

(if you use aftermarket chains instead of oem chain, that number may not be there.)


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## Baymule

Always keep a couple of extra chains on hand. I even have a brand new bar and chain hanging on the wall. I hate having to shut it down and make a trip to town.


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## greybeard

I resharpen mine till there is very little left. I do a LOT of cutting and since 2006, 'may' have gone thru 3 chains.
I can sharpen one about as fast as I can change one.
(you do know you can (and should) flip the bar over periodically? )
Trivia:
MS = Motorsägen which is German for chainsaw. 

You may sometimes hear people refer to their saws by a number instead of a model, such as "I have a 029 or "my saw is an 044".
These used to be the only designations and some people still use them but some years ago, Stihl changed their numbering process, basically moved the zero to the back and an 029 became a 290 and an 044 became a 440.


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## Bruce

The Stihl dealer should be able to tell you which file you need.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, I finally got my tractor back from the dealer.  He repaired the canopy, the seat belt (the fastener was broken), the internal leak in the hydraulic lines that tilted the bucket, added a third function valve and grapple. (Sorry for the blurry picture.)

Yesterday after getting home from the dealer I mowed the 5 acre area that is to become the quail habitat.  This morning after getting more diesel I got busy rounding up the brush from the line of trees next to the driveway and putting them into a pile.  Here's what the pile looked like when I finished, just before lighting the fire:
 
Here is the brush pile 6 minutes after I started the fire:
 
Here is the brush pile 20 minutes after I started the fire.  The fire started burning into the pasture, so I wet an old tattered blanket and used that to beat out the flames.  The blanket is in the lower right.


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## frustratedearthmother

Looking good!   Are you going to have to stock the quail habitat or are there plenty of wild ones to move in?


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## greybeard

Nice shop!!!

A drag woulda put the grass fire right out. For that matter, for that, you could have back drug your fel bucket on it and extinguished it


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Sorry for the blurry picture.


Yeah I think we need a redo on that!


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## Latestarter

Nice work there TxAggie! Field looks good in the pics. Agree with GB's comment... NICE shop! Glad the fire didn't spread.


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## Wehner Homestead

I need more info about this quail habitat!


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## RollingAcres

Looking good!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

frustratedearthmother said:


> Are you going to have to stock the quail habitat or are there plenty of wild ones to move in?



As far as we know, we will not have to stock the quail habitat, but sadly there are not many wild bobwhite around.  We heard one bobwhite calling sometime in the spring and have not heard any since.  The habitat will also be for butterflies, so we are hoping the quail and the butterflies will show up on their own.



greybeard said:


> Nice shop!!!
> 
> A drag woulda put the grass fire right out. For that matter, for that, you could have back drug your fel bucket on it and extinguished it





Latestarter said:


> Nice work there TxAggie! Field looks good in the pics. Agree with GB's comment... NICE shop! Glad the fire didn't spread.



Regarding the shop, thanks.  I like it quite a bit as well.  It is larger than the house (3000 sf versus 2400).  It was one of the appealing things about the place.  I have room to park the tractor and any implements that need to stay out of the weather, like the shredder.

Regarding putting out the grass fire, had the wet blanket not have worked, I was prepared to drive the tractor with the shredder over it if needed, and our garden house would reach.  Of course, the water pressure might have been quite low. 



Bruce said:


> Yeah I think we need a redo on that!



See if this is better:





Wehner Homestead said:


> I need more info about this quail habitat!



The state of Arkansas offers assistance in providing habitat for dwindling species like bobwhite quail.  They will pay for most or all of the costs for converting pasture into quail habitat, which also will supply food for butterflies.  So we set aside 5 acres (the minimum acceptable) as an experiment, to see how it worked out.

Now I have another stupid question for you folks knowledgeable about tractors.  While mowing the 5 acres for the quail habitat, whenever I got into really tall, thick grass, the mow would slow down and sometimes stop completely.  I would stop the tractor and sometimes even raise up the mower so that it could spin back up again.  My question is this: is there something wrong with the PTO clutch, or is there something that allows the mower to slow down when under strain, such as with thick grass?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

I'm not familiar with the PTO clutch and setup on your tractor, but I suspect it has a hydraulic pto ' wet clutch' and you will get some slippage under extreme pto loads.
Some tractors nowadays do not have a mechanical link between engine and PTO shaft.  They use hyd HPfrom the general hyd system  to drive a hydraulic motor that drives the PTO shaft.
It is not unusual tho, for a mower to stall in high heavy grass. My mower will do it no matter which tractor I use. A mower develops a lot of it's HP thru the rotating mass of the hub, stubs and blades in the form of inertia.
1. Make sure you keep your PTO rpms close to  but not over 540.  Slower rpms means you are trying to push the blades thru the grass instead of slinging them thru. There is probably a digital readout on your dash somewhere that tells what PTO rpms are.
2. Slow your forward travel speed down to compensate for the heavy grass...this might involve changing gears or switching to a lower range if it's a hydrostatic drive.
3. Call and discuss this with your dealer...it's under warranty. IF there is a problem, you want to catch it early.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> See if this is better:


It is, thanks.

You know a guy has too much space or too few implements when he doesn't have to shoehorn everything into the equipment shed


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## frustratedearthmother

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Now I have another stupid question for you folks knowledgeable about tractors. While mowing the 5 acres for the quail habitat, whenever I got into really tall, thick grass, the mow would slow down and sometimes stop completely. I would stop the tractor and sometimes even raise up the mower so that it could spin back up again. My question is this: is there something wrong with the PTO clutch, or is there something that allows the mower to slow down when under strain, such as with thick grass?


Greybeard explains it so well.  I was just gonna say ….gear down and throttle up, lol.   'Course I'm not a tractor expert...


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## greybeard

One of the mistakes I often see people do with 3pt pto driven rotary mowers is not having them adjusted right regarding height..both height off the ground and height looking front of mower to the rear of the mower. For light easy cutting, it's usually not an issue, but in thick high forage it can make a big difference.

Normally, the front and rear of the mower  (A TO B) should be level with each other, with 1/2 the weight of the mower on the lift arms and 1/2 the weight of the mower on the trailing wheel(s).  But, in thick stuff, I find I can do better if the front is a little higher than the rear. This takes some cutting stress off the blades as they come around to the front of the mower, and then as the tractor moves forward and the blades make there cut across the rear of the mower, final cut height is made. You can adjust how low the trailing wheel drops and how much weight it bears by moving pins or bolts on the tail wheel bracket and by lengthening or shortening the center link.
Never, should the mower's skid plates (C) be constantly dragging the ground like you see in the drawing below..




You want to be carefull about stalling the pto shaft and applying power to a stalled mower........you will be popping shear pins soon, or worse:



(Yes, that's mine..hub on the ujoint that connects to a gearbox was rusted to the gearbox input shaft and the hub could not slip enough to shear the pin....it twisted and broke the driveline instead. It's from a 3Pt post hole auger, but I have seen the same thing happen on mowers)

90% of the time, stalling a mower is caused by excessive forward speed and a low PTO rpm combination.
Tractors today are rated and advertised by how much engine HP they have, but there is also a drawbar HP rating and a PTO HP rating. Of the 3, PTO HP is always the lesser.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @greybeard and others,

    Thanks for the guidance on the use of the mower and regarding the PTO and its clutch.  I am quite relieved to know that the PTO clutch is not damaged in some way.  I feared that I had screwed it up somehow and faced a possibly large repair bill.

    My shredder definitely looks like the drawing.  I will adjust it so that the front of the shredder is a little higher than the rear, as I have the overgrown pastures to contend with.

    Now, what's the best way to sharpen the blades on the shredder?  Can I use a portable grinder on the blades while still on the mower, or will I need to remove the blades?  If the latter, what will I need to remove the blades -- a HUGE socket with a 10 ft long breakover bar?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

I sharpen them with a 4" angle grinder,  still on the unit, while it's on the tractor.
I move tractor to level ground, set the parking brake, lift the mower to the full height the 3pt will raise it, put blocking about 3/4 way back on each side of  the mower, and let the mower down on the blocking, then shut the tractor off.   Access is from the rear of the mower where the grass exits.  I don't actually have to get under the mower with my body, just reach my arms under.
Takes less than 15 minutes.

You 'can' do it with the mower sitting on the ground, but it's hard to get the  grinder in the right angle position.

*under NO CIRCUMSTANCES would I (or you) you do it without the mower setting on something solid or just hanging off the 3pt lift  OR with the tractor running!!*

Some however, insist the ONLY safe way to do it is to
1. Take it in and let the service guy risk his neck sharpening them (because I guarantee, he's NOT going to go to the trouble of removing the blades just to sharpen them)
2. Remove the blades yourself and sharpen them.
3. Remove the mower from the tractor (actually, you would be removing the tractor from the mower) , turn the mower upside down with the front end loader and sharpen them while the mower is upside down and all the gearbox oil is leaking out the vent hole.

A good impact wrench and proper size socket will generally remove the nuts from the blade bolts, but I've seen some that did take a good 3/4 or 1" breakover and cheater pipe. Also saw a couple I had to cut the nuts off with oxy/acet torch and replace the bolts and nuts when done.


----------



## Bruce

If you want to take the blades off (how long are they??) I'd use some PB Blaster, Fluid Film or other penetrating oil on the bolts and let it sit a while first. Wouldn't bother with a light oil like WD 40. 

I have no choice but to take the blades off my GT mower, no way to get to the blades while they are installed. I hand sharpen them in a vice with flat files, don't have a grinder of any sort, would probably screw them up if I did unless there was some sort of rest to make sure I got the angle right. Have never seen the insides of a 3 PT rotary mower.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> GT mower



What is a GT mower?


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Have never seen the insides of a 3 PT rotary mower.


Now you have. This one looks like a 4' wide model.




PB Blaster/penetrating oil et al won't help much with properly torqued nuts of bush hog/rotary mower  blades like the ones being talked about. It only helps with corrosion and sometimes with galling. These nuts are just plain TIGHT!

You don't see the nuts in the picture because they are on top of the blade stubs. The blade bolts, have a swage, a flat, or some other stamped/machined in area that locks the bolt to the stub so you don't need a 'backup' wrench under the mower. The stub, is almost always obscured from view by the stump jumper, which is the big dish shaped object in the center of my previous picture.


 

The nuts are generally accessed thru a hole in the mower deck.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @greybeard, sir!  Thanks for the info on sharpening the blades.  I will do that soon.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

greybeard said:


> What is a GT mower?


Garden Tractor! You know, the "wanna be" of tractors. Mine is 24 HP with a 54" 3 blade deck and a 50" snow blower. I think people with a 24 HP sub-compact tractor get a lot more capability for their HP. Of course they pay a lot more too.



greybeard said:


> Now you have. This one looks like a 4' wide model.
> View attachment 52551


That doesn't look like something that is easy to take the blades off. I gather the ground edge faces down which is why you can get an angle grinder on it with the blades still on. What do you do to keep them from moving while you sharpen? I think I'd be tempted to lift it to perpendicular by the top link connection hole with the chain hooks on the FEL rather than doing it from below. Oh my aching back!


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> What do you do to keep them from moving while you sharpen?


No, ground edges are facing up, which is why you want to use a 4" angle grinder and not a 9" grinder.
The blades are heavy enough to usually stay right where you rotate them to.

If you hang one vertically, you will have to find some way to lock the input shaft of the gearbox, as the blades will then want to pivot pointing down...and in a hurry too. I tried it once........a real pita.

Believe me, it really is an easy and quick job to sharpen them on the mower, with the mower in a horizontal but blocked up position. I just did mine a couple weeks ago before mowing my neighbor's place. I sharpened his last week.
(I do recommend doing it on the grass or dirt tho...not on a cement floor.)

Blades aren't too bad to remove, depending how beat up the threads are.
Most manufacturers tho, strongly recommend replacing the bolts with new ones if you remove the blades for any reason. Those bolts take a real beating under there and no sense risking fatigue cracks result in a blade flying off. (I've only lost one blade in my life, and it was from the blade itself breaking right at the bolt hole.....you know it right away.the whole thing shakes from being so out of balance)

The center nut that holds blades/stumpjumper & everything to the gearbox output shaft is the one that can really make you pull your hair out.....then, you have to hope it all just slides off the tapered shaft and splines......


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Garden Tractor! You know, the "wanna be" of tractors. Mine is 24 HP with a 54" 3 blade deck and a 50" snow blower. I think people with a 24 HP sub-compact tractor get a lot more capability for their HP. Of course they pay a lot more too


It's not all the garden tractor's 'fault' Bruce. Most of it has to do with how the mower deck drive  is designed. You will never get the mechanical HP and torque from a belt driven mower you will from a pto driven deck that has a gearbox on it, with that heavy rotating mass underneath. Even garden/lawn tractors that do use a pto driven mower can't duplicate what you get from the heavy blades of a like sized mower such as what we are taking about. Inertia is a very powerful weapon against resistance from tall, thick  grass. That mass acts just like a big flywheel, storing energy.


----------



## Baymule

I am now being stalked by @Senile_Texas_Aggie.  Friday night and Saturday, we had our grand daughters, ages 11, 3 and 2. Saturday night I opened my computer to 208 alerts! It was 6 or 7 pages! Tonight it was over 130.

Well, soon you will know all my secrets that I share on the forum.....so I guess they really aren't secrets. LOL I'll try to make sure I get on BYH every night so I can keep up with you!


----------



## greybeard

Baymule said:


> I am now being stalked by @Senile_Texas_Aggie.  Friday night and Saturday, we had our grand daughters, ages 11, 3 and 2. Saturday night I opened my computer to 208 alerts! It was 6 or 7 pages! Tonight it was over 130.
> 
> Well, soon you will know all my secrets that I share on the forum.....so I guess they really aren't secrets. LOL I'll try to make sure I get on BYH every night so I can keep up with you!



I've never really understood all that....wanting or choosing to be 'alerted' anytime anyone did this, or that, or the other. My current alerts'? zero, and I prefer it that way.



 





All the rest of the 'lert options are unchecked as well.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Baymule, you are right, I am stalking you.  I am getting close to being finished.  And Mr. @greybeard, I guess I need not worry about driving you crazy with alerts whenever I like one of your posts (which is quite often ).

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## RollingAcres

Baymule said:


> I am now being stalked by @Senile_Texas_Aggie.  Friday night and Saturday, we had our grand daughters, ages 11, 3 and 2. Saturday night I opened my computer to 208 alerts! It was 6 or 7 pages! Tonight it was over 130.
> 
> Well, soon you will know all my secrets that I share on the forum.....so I guess they really aren't secrets. LOL I'll try to make sure I get on BYH every night so I can keep up with you!



When STA is done stalking Baymule, I don't know who's going to need counseling/a psychiatrist more.


----------



## Baymule

RollingAcres said:


> When STA is done stalking Baymule, I don't know who's going to need counseling/a psychiatrist more.


Definitely--HE IS!!!


----------



## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Miss @Baymule, you are right, I am stalking you.  I am getting close to being finished.  And Mr. @greybeard, I guess I need not worry about driving you crazy with alerts whenever I like one of your posts (which is quite often ).
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


I gave you links to threads I made on www.theeasygarden.com sister site to BYH. Are you going to read them too? LOL


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> And Mr. @greybeard, I guess I need not worry about driving you crazy with alerts whenever I like one of your posts


No, you don't, and to be honest, when it was initially announced that the 'like' function was coming to BYH, I voiced opposition to it, stating that it most likely would become meaningless as likes would become 1 (or both) of 2 things.
1. A junior high schoolish/MySpace popularity contest.
2. So over used that it would be little more than the much maligned and ridiculed 'participation' trophy.

It was not long after the function was implemented, that I received 2 communiques (e-mail) making a tit-for-tat or _quid pro quo_ offer..they would like all my posts they read if I would do the same for their posts.  I declined.
It is obvious, than many people as a matter of course simply 'like' a very very high % of the posts they read, regardless of content-I have seen some garner a 'like' for nothing more than clicking a emoticon..a smiley. 
I've seen people submit a generic reply, the next person simply state "I agree" and the member submitting "i agree" be awarded several 'likes' for that well thought out, highly researched 2 word submission.

I admittedly award very few 'likes'. A person has to go above and beyond the general chatter for me to do so..solve a problem, find a solution.
(It's not that I dislike most posts (I don't) ..........it's just that if every single post gets a 'like', (and it seems most do ) then, what's the point?)


----------



## Bruce

I kinda want to "like" your post @greybeard but I don't want to offend  But I agree with it. I "like" posts that have merit either for their informational text, humor or sentimental content. 

Tit for tat "likes"?? I've never seen that here or on BYC and would have turned it down as well. What nonsense.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> I kinda want to "like" your post @greybeard but I don't want to offend  But I agree with it



I am neither offended nor enthralled with 'likes'.  I just pay no personal attention to them or place any value on them but have found the phenomena very perplexing, tho predictably so.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Baymule,

I finally finished all of the threads you provided, both on BYH and TEG.  Even though I have asked the BYH forum to notify me whenever you post something, I missed several of the threads you started, such as when you lost Parker.  I am sorry for your loss and sorry that I didn't know about it at the time, even though I was already a member of BYH by then.

As for who needs to see a therapist, I am sure that @Latestarter can provide you with the name of the therapist he is seeing.  They should already be familiar with STASS, so will be able to help you as well.  I am seeing my psychiatrist tomorrow, and I will tell her where the STASS came from, and I will also tell her that I stalked someone who turned out to be _crazy!_  One of the reasons that I read @Bruce's journal was to prepare me for reading your posts, since he is your protege in humor.  (He learned well from you, I might add.)

Seriously, I very much appreciate your postings, sharing with others what is going on in your life.  I often will "like" some of your sad posts, not because I am happy that something tragic has happened, but because you are willing to share it with us, even when it seems hard to do.  It takes a lot of courage to share a loss with others, as it makes you vulnerable to people making fun of you in your pain.  Yet you, and others here on the forum, often do share such feelings, and I am grateful that you entrust us with those feelings.  I hope to be able to share comfort with you in your time of need, and should the time come, that I be able to share my losses and receive comfort from you and others at that time.

Mr Greybeard and Mr. @Bruce, regarding the "like"s of your postings, I must confess that I have "like"d a lot of your posts, usually because they were witty, very helpful, and sometimes simply sharing good news with us, such as your mentioning, Bruce, about your daughter getting accepted into college.

To the others on BYH -- just because I haven't started reading your journals doesn't mean you are safe.  It's just that my lips will only move so fast when reading the postings.   But your time is coming!  So start looking for a therapist trained in STASS right away!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

If you waded through my postings on TEG about us buying this place and moving to it, I admire your tenacity and refusal to give up after perusing page after page of misadventures! Looking back, it is funny now, but I sure got mad over the sheer insanity of it all at times. 

We still miss Parker and talk about him often. Sometimes a Blessing in a Dog Suit comes along, and that was Parker. 

We have a new puppy now, Thursday will be 2 weeks. Parker was a Labrador and Great Dane cross and I found a litter of Lab/Great Dane puppies not even an hour from us. My husband is a happy man. 

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/lab-great-dane-puppy.38459/


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Just now have time to post on BYH.  My Beautiful Gal and I went to McKinney for a doctor's visit on Tuesday, returning the same day.  Then on Wednesday I decided to burn the brush pile left from all the brush from around the pond.  The tractor is to the right to give an idea of the size of the pile.



As I had finished piling all of the brush into the pile using the grapple, I started heading back to the shop and noticed something quite alarming about the tractor.  I took a picture once I reached the shop.  In case you cannot tell what it is, it is the pin that holds the right front end loader arm to the tractor.  It had just about worked its way out.  I shudder to think what would have happened had it done that.
 

Finally, in case you wonder if wearing protective chaps while using a chainsaw is worth the hassle, consider the picture below.  This happened while I was trying to cut a small tree down and got close with my left leg.
 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

Safety first. No short cuts. You have done your homework and it saved cutting your leg.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Whew...glad you weren't injured!


----------



## Rammy

Thats why I dont mess with chain saws.


----------



## Latestarter

Gosh STA... Surely do appreciate you doing all these things and taking pics to learn us what NOT to do, or what to watch out for... But wouldn't it be easier (and potentially healthier/less costly) to just find existing examples already posted on the internet to share with us?  Glad the above issues didn't amount to anything more terrible. be careful out there now!


----------



## RollingAcres

Yikes STA! Glad you were not injured!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

We are currently working on clearing out the underbrush on a grove of trees near the driveway closer to the house from the creek that runs across our property.  (It was there where I decided to try to cut off my lower leg but the chainsaw chaps prevented me from doing that.)  I was unable to use the chainsaw today because I didn't know that the fibers from the protective chaps had wrapped themselves around the nose gear of the chainsaw blade.  So I had to go to the hardware store to buy a new blade.  Yesterday I tried using the pole saw but could not get it started.  So I took it to Lowes (it was still under the factory warranty, and I had bought an extended warranty plan).  Instead of repairing it, they replaced it.  Because they no longer carried the model I had bought (a Troybuilt 4-cycle), they instead gave me a Husqvarna.  I will try it out tomorrow after I have had a chance to read the owners manual.  (Don't tell anyone that I plan to read the owners manual -- I don't want to lose my man card.)

After we finished for the day working at the grove of trees, we went to the pond to feed the fish some bread.  While there, we saw the first hint of fall in a few of the leaves of a sweet gum tree next to the pond.  Sweet gum trees are among my favorite of deciduous trees.  I love the shape of their foliage and its color in the fall.  I hope we get to see a whole lot of color this fall.


Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Rammy

We also wont tell anyone you actually ask for directions when traveling.


----------



## farmerjan

I am VERY IMPRESSED that you are SMART ENOUGH to be willing to read a manual.  You have stated that all these different types of tools are somewhat "new  to you" and that you have asked tons of questions that are sensible... if you weren't married I would take a trip out to meet you; as a man that has common sense and is willing to read the manual first, has my UTMOST RESPECT !!!!!   Man card or not... GOOD FOR YOU .  I envy your wife.....  I read manuals all the time for anything I don't know how to run.  I read the manual in the subaru to find the fuse box and determine which ones were for the wipers when they quit, but it wasn't a fuse and the guy at the subaru place came out to look and took a screwdriver, took out a couple of screws and popped the arm back on the motor .. then showed me what to do it it happened again and DIDN"T CHARGE ME.   

So keep up the good work and asking questions and reading manuals.  All you have to do now is remember to allow for "headroom" when you are bushogging, and to secure any loads in the bucket...


----------



## Mike CHS

I have enjoyed reading about how you are learning and you are doing it the right way.  I don't worry about any so called 'man cards'. If I have something that needs doing that I don't know how to do, I just ask Teresa to do it.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

What she ^ said!


----------



## Mike CHS

frustratedearthmother said:


> What she ^ said!



But He wrote that.      We love an equal partnership and nobody cares about credit


----------



## Mike CHS

And She wrote that


----------



## frustratedearthmother

I'm confused...was just second-ing her praise of him.     Which just meant I was trying to tell him he'd done good.  Sorry if I offended...


----------



## Latestarter

Nah FEM... by the time you posted, someone else had that was a "him" vice the Jan post you were referring to.


----------



## goatgurl

sure glad you came thru unscathed from your chain saw incident.  my hands aren't very strong and I can't hold on to one so I just leave them alone. keeps me from cutting body parts off.
I love the color of sweet gum trees too.  not crazy about the porky pine eggs under them tho.  when I lived in WVa I had large maple trees in my yard and in the pasture.  they rival sweet gums for color and the one time I made syrup it was pretty tasty too.


----------



## Baymule

Now all we have to do is find another @Senile_Texas_Aggie that is single for @farmerjan and send them out on a blind date! STA, got any brothers or cousins?


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Latestarter said:


> Nah FEM... by the time you posted, someone else had that was a "him" vice the Jan post you were referring to.


Makes much more sense now, lol.  Thanks for the clarification.


----------



## farmerjan

Baymule said:


> Now all we have to do is find another @Senile_Texas_Aggie that is single for @farmerjan and send them out on a blind date! STA, got any brothers or cousins?


 
Thank you @Baymule .....  Yep, I've got animal equity too!!!!!! But some real bad joints so don't get around all that great some days....


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

farmerjan said:


> I am VERY IMPRESSED that you are SMART ENOUGH to be willing to read a manual. You have stated that all these different types of tools are somewhat "new to you" and that you have asked tons of questions that are sensible... if you weren't married I would take a trip out to meet you; as a man that has common sense and is willing to read the manual first, has my UTMOST RESPECT !!!!! Man card or not... GOOD FOR YOU . I envy your wife..... I read manuals all the time for anything I don't know how to run. I read the manual in the subaru to find the fuse box and determine which ones were for the wipers when they quit, but it wasn't a fuse and the guy at the subaru place came out to look and took a screwdriver, took out a couple of screws and popped the arm back on the motor .. then showed me what to do it it happened again and DIDN"T CHARGE ME.
> 
> So keep up the good work and asking questions and reading manuals. All you have to do now is remember to allow for "headroom" when you are bushogging, and to secure any loads in the bucket...



Miss @farmerjan, gosh, thanks!  Maybe we can meet someday, like we plan to meet Miss @goatgurl soon.  But if you did take that trip to meet me in person, you'd realize I'm even dumber in person than I appear on-line.  I have been a good bit more careful about going under trees since getting the new canopy installed.  And it is a long-term goal of mine to lift up the canopies of all of the trees around so that I need not read the clearance signs any more.

I wish you lived nearby, Miss @farmerjan, as I would love to lease my pastures to you, as I know you'd take good care of them.



Baymule said:


> STA, got any brothers or cousins?


No, I am the only boy with 2 younger sisters.  The world is not big enough for 2 senile Texas Aggies!  

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Latestarter

OK Bay, so make note... When you find a STA Clone for Farmer Jan, he can't be expecting to burn up the dance floor with her... Maybe a first date can involve rocking chairs on a porch or something...


----------



## Wehner Homestead

I have to say that a BYH romance would definitely be something new! I can only imagine the hoopla with all of our involvement and enabling!


----------



## Bruce

Enablers? On BYH?? Oh I don't think so!



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> (Don't tell anyone that I plan to read the owners manual -- I don't want to lose my man card.)






Mike CHS said:


> If I have something that needs doing that I don't know how to do, I just ask Teresa to do it.


That is because you know she WILL read the manual.


----------



## farmerjan

Oh my goodness, I have been sitting here laughing and nearly falling off the desk chair!!!!!!

I used to be able to dance, I was in a country & western dance club and we used to do demonstrations and go to competitions;  two step, country waltz, some east coast swing... I miss it and it is great exercise.  My son is quite good too.  And I have never known a woman that didn't like a guy who could dance.   Whether I do the stem cell treatments and have some success, or I go for the replacements... I want to get back to dancing.  In the club we did not drink any alcohol, so it was really nice.  And everyone danced with everyone else's partner with no big "problem".  Even when we all went out socially, there was not alot of drinking because you couldn't drink and execute some of the dance moves...

And since you are trying to set me up  you need to find a nice "workaholic" farm girl for my son! Seems like all the ones in the 30's have several kids and exs that are a problem, and don't want any more kids, or are looking for a sugar daddy, or don't know diddly about cows;   and either they need to have a real nice spread that is too good to be true, or else be willing to relocate here.  It is hard to believe the ones that are too immature, or too "money hungry",  or too lazy to work & help and contribute.  

And we all KNOW HOW RICH WE ARE ALL GETTING HAVING ANIMALS.......


----------



## Bruce

You have a rich life if not a rich bank account @farmerjan


----------



## Baymule

@farmerjan ….….Oh NO you DON'T!!! I have a 35 year old son, works hard, never married, no "woods colts" running around......if there's a hard working country gal out there that doesn't have half a dozen kids, all with different daddys, one that likes cows, a garden and ain't affeered of work, SHE'S MINE!!!  Lordy, I been lookin' to git that boy married off! 


@Latestarter aw com'on! Rocking chairs? I know farmerjan said her joints don't flop around just right, but I wuz thankin' sumpin a little more interestin'......like fishing, maybe. Sitting in a boat, might catch a fish, sounds better than a rocking chair date!


----------



## greybeard

They do make bass boat seats that recline...with foot rests too...just sayin...



Wehner Homestead said:


> I have to say that a BYH romance would definitely be something new! I can only imagine the hoopla with all of our involvement and enabling!



There has, over the years, been 'more than one'. One was pretty out in the open and on the up & up..... (young folks) ...another one, ... I will just say ya had to 'only  slightly' _read between the lines_, but no one with any life experience at all was fooled by the half hearted denials.


----------



## Wehner Homestead

[There has, over the years, been 'more than one'. One was pretty out in the open and on the up & up..... (young folks) ...another one, ... I will just say ya had to 'only  slightly' _read between the lines_, but no one with any life experience at all was fooled by the half hearted denials.[/QUOTE]


----------



## RollingAcres

Latestarter said:


> OK Bay, so make note... When you find a STA Clone for Farmer Jan, he can't be expecting to burn up the dance floor with her... Maybe a first date can involve rocking chairs on a porch or something...


OMG! I'm here LMAO!!!


----------



## RollingAcres

Baymule said:


> @farmerjan ….….Oh NO you DON'T!!! I have a 35 year old son, works hard, never married, no "woods colts" running around......if there's a hard working country gal out there that doesn't have half a dozen kids, all with different daddys, one that likes cows, a garden and ain't affeered of work, SHE'S MINE!!! Lordy, I been lookin' to git that boy married off!



Maybe there are twin sisters out there, both hard working country gals, both like cows, gardening, canning and all that good stuff...,one can marry @Baymule 's son and the other can marry @farmerjan 's son.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

So it's agreed, then that both Miss @farmerjan and her son must post pictures of themselves so that the rest of us can get to work finding them some partners.    (You can post the pictures right here on my journal if you like.)

On an entirely unrelated note, I finally got the soil test results back for 5 different pasture areas.  I would like you folks who know more about this kind of stuff to weigh in.  First, the east pasture directly in front of the house:



Next, the south pastures (the two long narrow pastures just north of the overgrown area):
 

Next, the northwest pasture, just north of the house:
 

Next, the north pasture, next to the road:
 

Finally, the quail sanctuary pasture:
 

What sayest thee, oh wise BYHers?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## RollingAcres

Umm STA not sure if you are aware, your name and address is listed on the test results. You might want to cover that up if you don't want others to see it.


----------



## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> So it's agreed, then that both Miss @farmerjan and her son must post pictures of themselves so that the rest of us can get to work finding them some partners.  (You can post the pictures right here on my journal if you like.)



We would have to start a "dating journals" for @farmerjan and also her son.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

RollingAcres said:


> Umm STA not sure if you are aware, your name and address is listed on the test results. You might want to cover that up if you don't want others to see it.



You are right, I forgot about that.  Oh, well, that will make it easier for folks to find me when they decide to come tar and feather me.


----------



## Mike CHS

I'm not sure what you are asking.  I didn't look at all of the pages since I kept getting locked up but all except the quail area shows the current soil state and the recommended fertilizer amounts to use per acre.  All of them need lime to adjust the PH and needs to be put on as soon as possible to give it time to work prior to fertilizing.


----------



## Rammy

Baymule said:


> @farmerjan ….….Oh NO you DON'T!!! I have a 35 year old son, works hard, never married, no "woods colts" running around......if there's a hard working country gal out there that doesn't have half a dozen kids, all with different daddys, one that likes cows, a garden and ain't affeered of work, SHE'S MINE!!!  Lordy, I been lookin' to git that boy married off!
> 
> 
> @Latestarter aw com'on! Rocking chairs? I know farmerjan said her joints don't flop around just right, but I wuz thankin' sumpin a little more interestin'......like fishing, maybe. Sitting in a boat, might catch a fish, sounds better than a rocking chair date!



Too bad Im in my 50's or Id be the perfect DIL for you. I don't have kids, love cows, and work my pattootie off. I can send pics. You'll see I have no butt.  Love to garden and ride tractors.  Does he like older women? Haha.....


----------



## greybeard

RollingAcres said:


> Maybe there are twin sisters out there, both hard working country gals


There are and  were indeed 2 hard working twin gals that every Native Texan loves.
Where are they now? ..... not sure.


----------



## RollingAcres

greybeard said:


> There are and  were indeed 2 hard working twin gals that every Native Texan loves.
> Where are they now? ..... not sure.
> View attachment 52869


Good one!
They are probably in some collector's backyard.


----------



## RollingAcres

Rammy said:


> Too bad Im in my 50's or Id be the perfect DIL for you. I don't have kids, love cows, and work my pattootie off. I can send pics. You'll see I have no butt.  Love to garden and ride tractors.  Does he like older women? Haha.....



Hahaha! Rammy, self-advertising over there. LOL


----------



## Rammy

Well......shoot!! Match didn't work! Got to try something!  hahaha!
Love the cougar...........hint hint right?


----------



## Bruce

RollingAcres said:


> Umm STA not sure if you are aware, your name and address is listed on the test results. You might want to cover that up if you don't want others to see it.


PPPPPAAAAAARRRRRTTTTYYYYY at Cary's house!!!


----------



## Rammy

Lets see who stalks WHO now! Muhahaha!


----------



## RollingAcres

Oh boy, poor STA


----------



## Bruce

Yep, after he stalked all of us, he gave us his physical address. BIG mistake, now he'll be looking over his shoulder night and day! Of course we'll have to sneak through the woods, that is one LONG driveway out in the open coming up to the house. 

Yes, I DID Google the address and put it in satellite view. I'm a curious guy.


----------



## farmerjan

Baymule said:


> @farmerjan ….….Oh NO you DON'T!!! I have a 35 year old son, works hard, never married, no "woods colts" running around......if there's a hard working country gal out there that doesn't have half a dozen kids, all with different daddys, one that likes cows, a garden and ain't affeered of work, SHE'S MINE!!!  Lordy, I been lookin' to git that boy married off!
> 
> 
> @Latestarter aw com'on! Rocking chairs? I know farmerjan said her joints don't flop around just right, but I wuz thankin' sumpin a little more interestin'......like fishing, maybe. Sitting in a boat, might catch a fish, sounds better than a rocking chair date!



@Baymule ;
Sounds like we need to send our "boys" on a quest for women!!!!!!   2 of the ones my son got interested in over the years had a problem with his and my working relationship.  Didn't like him asking me my opinion, didn't want to include me in anything they did or anywhere they went... Don't get me wrong... many times I politely refused the invitations so no one felt like he had to take "momma" every where he went.  I'm not stupid... but as far as the farm and all, SORRY, it is quite a bit of my sweat and tears and hard work in that and I am not going to have some 2 bit girlfriend start questioning the time he and I spend on farming.... I know that there are times I would be in the way, but we have done alot together over the years and to just be cut out of all of it just told me they were too immature and too insecure to make a good partner.
  One that was about perfect, and we got along great as well as she got along great with her own parents; he was not in the settling down stage and she got away.  Real shame....


----------



## farmerjan

RollingAcres said:


> Maybe there are twin sisters out there, both hard working country gals, both like cows, gardening, canning and all that good stuff...,one can marry @Baymule 's son and the other can marry @farmerjan 's son.


Wouldn't that be a riot????


----------



## farmerjan

RollingAcres said:


> We would have to start a "dating journals" for @farmerjan and also her son.


And @Baymule  's son.... just sayin" got to be fair and equal here!!!!!


----------



## farmerjan

RollingAcres said:


> We would have to start a "dating journals" for @farmerjan and also her son.


And @Baymule  's son.... just sayin" got to be fair and equal here!!!!!


----------



## Wehner Homestead

I was trying to figure out where to mention this and this seems as good a place as any, especially considering the recent conversation...has anyone noticed that @greybeard has his occupation listed as “Trophy Husband”? With him standing next to that race car, I couldn’t help but smile!


----------



## Baymule

@farmerjan we will just have to let these boys of ours find their way..... even though we'd like to put them in the express line. LOL


----------



## Bruce

farmerjan said:


> 2 of the ones my son got interested in over the years had a problem with his and my working relationship.


No loss there. If they can't figure out that a business partnership is a PARTNERSHIP where the PARTNERS have to agree on how to run the business, they would destroy the business entirely. Hopefully he will find a life partner that does understand such things.


----------



## greybeard

Wehner Homestead said:


> I was trying to figure out where to mention this and this seems as good a place as any, especially considering the recent conversation...has anyone noticed that @greybeard has his occupation listed as “Trophy Husband”? With him standing next to that race car, I couldn’t help but smile!


Yep, that's her's. My vehicle is the white no-frills fleet Silverado in the background, tho a year later, I did run accross another identical car and bought it for myself.had it shipped from Maryland........they are addictive. At one time, we had 5 Fieros, and took them to different car shows all over Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
This one was mine:





  Twin Indys...or as wife put it, 'his and her' Indys.




Her first one a few years earlier, was not an Indy pace car. (almost dark when I took the picture, down by the N. Concho River in San Angelo Tx.



Another one (daily driver) we had at the same time we had the 2 Indy pace cars:




Wife's 1st one at one of the shows..I think this was in San Angelo but may have been in Oklahoma.


----------



## Bruce

Tough when you have to look at the license plate to know which car you are supposed to get into!


----------



## RollingAcres

greybeard said:


> Twin Indys...or as wife put it, 'his and her' Indys.



Awww how cute!


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Tough when you have to look at the license plate to know which car you are supposed to get into!


Not really.
Mine didn't stay stock for long. A pair of over the roof air induction scoops found their way to my house...


----------



## greybeard

Latestarter said:


> OK Bay, so make note... When you find a STA Clone for Farmer Jan, he can't be expecting to burn up the dance floor with her... Maybe a first date can involve rocking chairs on a porch or something...


Now who's 'self advertising'?............
(LS is single...)


----------



## Latestarter

huh?  Think I've been pretty straight forward and clearly outspoken that I am NOT interested in a 3rd Mrs. LS. in any way shape or form. I got fooled once, then fooled twice, I will not give/allow/consider ANY chance of being fooled a third time. This old goat is a confirmed bachelor, and progressing steadily toward hermit status. There aint a gal out there with the patience/desire/willingness/ability to put up with me and I don't have the desire to change for anyone. I'm too picky/opinionated/old fashioned/stubborn/and just plain set in my ways. This old dog is not willing to learn "new tricks" to start/maintain a long term relationship.


----------



## Mike CHS

For what it's worth, I was a confirmed bachelor for 12 years to the point my friends jokingly called me One Date Mikey since I never asked anyone out for a second date.  That is, until I met Teresa.


----------



## Latestarter

Ahem... least you were willing to date... I'm not. Hard to start any relationship when you aren't willing to make any effort toward starting one.  I have no interest in dating or asking anyone out on a date. And I don't go anywhere or do anything that would reasonably give a gal the chance to ask me.  Not happenin', plain and simple. subject closed. 

Gotta head out for hay here in about 30 minutes... hope to arrive there just about dusk/dark as he wanted. He's haying and needed the sunlight to work his fields.


----------



## Bruce

Latestarter said:


> And I don't go anywhere or do anything that would reasonably give a gal the chance to ask me.


Bay can set you up


----------



## Wehner Homestead




----------



## greybeard

Latestarter said:


> huh?  Think I've been pretty straight forward and clearly outspoken that I am NOT interested in a 3rd Mrs. LS. in any way shape or form. I got fooled once, then fooled twice, I will not give/allow/consider ANY chance of being fooled a third time. This old goat is a confirmed bachelor, and progressing steadily toward hermit status. There aint a gal out there with the patience/desire/willingness/ability to put up with me and I don't have the desire to change for anyone. I'm too picky/opinionated/old fashioned/stubborn/and just plain set in my ways. This old dog is not willing to learn "new tricks" to start/maintain a long term relationship.


Well, now ain't you the proverbial silver tongued devil.....
(watch him girls....I bet he can charm a cow right out of her calf with all those slick words..and he can cook too!)

Oh, and At your age (and mine) "long term" is a relative term...


----------



## Latestarter

Now I return you to your regular scheduled STA postings...


----------



## Rammy

Latestarter said:


> huh?  Think I've been pretty straight forward and clearly outspoken that I am NOT interested in a 3rd Mrs. LS. in any way shape or form. I got fooled once, then fooled twice, I will not give/allow/consider ANY chance of being fooled a third time. This old goat is a confirmed bachelor, and progressing steadily toward hermit status. There aint a gal out there with the patience/desire/willingness/ability to put up with me and I don't have the desire to change for anyone. I'm too picky/opinionated/old fashioned/stubborn/and just plain set in my ways. This old dog is not willing to learn "new tricks" to start/maintain a long term relationship.



Amen to that!

Thought Id edit this to clarify. I feel the same way concerning  getting remarried. Dont think anyone could put up with me either. Too set in my ways. My first answer was in agreement with LS.


----------



## Bruce

Maybe you and LS could be room mates. What fun having two "impossible to live with" people living together. The Odd Couple!

ETA: @Senile_Texas_Aggie you better post something interesting before we stay off topic forever forgetting where we are posting!!!!


----------



## RollingAcres




----------



## Rammy

Bruce said:


> Maybe you and LS could be room mates. What fun having two "impossible to live with" people living together. The Odd Couple!
> 
> ETA: @Senile_Texas_Aggie you better post something interesting before we stay off topic forever forgetting where we are posting!!!!



That aint gonna happen.  I think we both have lived alone long enough we would kill each other.  Plus, I dont do well in the heat and dont want to mess with those fahr aints!


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Maybe you and LS could be room mates. What fun having two "impossible to live with" people living together. The Odd Couple!
> 
> ETA: @Senile_Texas_Aggie you better post something interesting before we stay off topic forever forgetting where we are posting!!!!


all that denial stuff ain't foolin nobody..
They both just 'playin hard to get'.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

farmerjan said:


> Sounds like we need to send our "boys" on a quest for women!!!!!!



I was going to suggest that you and your son would be perfect for @Latestarter and his daughter, but I think LS said he'd have to think about it.  Maybe @greybeard is right, though, and LS is just playing hard to get!  

Meanwhile, back at the ranch -- er, farm...  Yesterday the tractor wouldn't crank.  It acted like some kind of safety switch was preventing it from doing so.  Both the forward/reverse and gear selector were in neutral, the PTO was disengaged, and the occupant seat switch was working.  I was stumped.  My wife and I went down to the woods adjacent to the driveway and continued thinning out the woods, leaving the tractor in the shop.  I asked my neighbor from whom I bought the tractor if he had any ideas.  He came by and was as puzzled as I was.  Finally I decided to see if there was anything unusual looking underneath the tractor.  The wire from the occupant seat looked OK.  The wire from the PTO looked OK.  Now, where is the wire to the neutral safety switch.  Hmmm...  What are this loose wires hanging down?  And there is the switch to the transmission that is missing a connector.  So when I wired the two ends of the loose wires together (bypassing the neutral safety switch for the moment) and tried starting the tractor, it fired right up!  Somehow I had snagged the wire for the neutral safety switch on a fallen limb or maybe a tall stump and ripped it off!

So today I had some catching up to do in moving the debris with the grapple.  I got a lot done.  But just when I was almost finished, I noticed hydraulic fluid leaking from the right clamp of the grapple!  Ugh!  So now I will have the fun of trying to figure out where the leak is.  Oh, well, it keeps me off the street and out of jail (or a psych ward).

Senile Texas Aggie


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## frustratedearthmother

Always something....


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Maybe @greybeard is right, though, and LS is just playing hard to get!


Hmmm, well I know for a fact there are 10 people here on BYH who have met LS in person. They might be able to give him a  review for potential mates 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Ugh! So now I will have the fun of trying to figure out where the leak is.


Mine were easy to find. The quick connect for the backhoe was obvious since it was out in the open.
I had to wipe the fluid with a rag to find the one on the backhoe boom hose. All the fabric covers were soaked. Once dried (as best possible) off, I ran the joystick in each direction until I saw it getting wet again.


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## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Hmmm, well I know for a fact there are 10 people here on BYH who have met LS in person. They might be able to give him a  review for potential mates



Make that 11....I'm one of them.


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## Bruce

I counted you, who did I miss?
@Baymule and DH
@Devonviolet and DH
@goatgurl 
@Rammy
@CntryBoy777 
@Mike CHS and Teresa
@greybeard


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## Mike CHS

He went to buy a flying pig and some goats in Arklahoma.

edit - never mind I see you got that.


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## Latestarter

Just to remind you of my LGD purchase over in NC... SBC is also an acquaintance...


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## Bruce

Ah. And GW?? That makes 12.


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## Latestarter

I honestly can't remember if I met GW while there... I did meet her younger/est daughter and her DH... as well as some of her LGDs... I drove a long time to get there and didn't stay long as I had a long drive back to CO.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, so 12 folks can attest to LS and the kind of guy he is.  So all of you folks will now just need to round up someone for him.

Miss @Rammy, you still have not provided a picture of yourself for us BYHers!  The picture where you are hiding behind @Mike CHS's arm doesn't count!  Maybe we should all convince @CntryBoy777 to post one of his pictures of you where you are not hiding!

And Miss @farmerjan, we are also waiting on a picture from you!  I know you said that your phone won't do it, but there has got to be a neighbor who has a phone who can take your picture and email it to you so you can post.  We BYHers want to know these things!  

I looked more closely at the hydraulic leak.  It appears to be coming from the cylinder itself on the right clamp of the grapple.  I have only had it for a month so the dealer should repair it under warranty.  One thing I would like to get your opinion on is whether I should pay to have the dealer replace the hoses on the grapple with hoses that are encased in steel braids or some other kind of protection.  With my attacking limbs and bushes, I can see the possibility that a hose would hang on a limb and rip it out.  What do you folks think?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> One thing I would like to get your opinion on is whether I should pay to have the dealer replace the hoses on the grapple with hoses that are encased in steel braids or some other kind of protection. With my attacking limbs and bushes, I can see the possibility that a hose would hang on a limb and rip it out. What do you folks think?



Very little. The hydraulic lines have steel braid already inside, between the plies. It's not the ss braid that leaks,(it's not fluid tight) it's the very inside 'rubber' part that holds the pressure and a failure of that inner liner results in leaks, either because of defect in manufacturing, excessive pressure, rubbing against a metal object, too tight of a bend, or too little slack in an area where the hose must flex as a tilt cylinder moves in or out. 
The only place I see armored hyd lines on ag equipment is in high heat applications...and they aren't cheap.


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## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Well, so 12 folks can attest to LS and the kind of guy he is. So all of you folks will now just need to round up someone for him.


We have to remember that LS said he doesn't go anywhere or do anything that would give someone a chance to ask him out (see below). So whatever WE do, it needs to happen at a BYH get together. 



Latestarter said:


> I have no interest in dating or asking anyone out on a date. And I don't go anywhere or do anything that would reasonably give a gal the chance to ask me.


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## greybeard

Oh, he goes lots of places other than BYH get togethers. 
(Heck, I met my current wife at the checkout of a grocery store)


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## RollingAcres

greybeard said:


> I met my current wife at the checkout of a grocery store


Please do tell. Were you both in line to check out?

I met my DH at a club (back when I liked doing that kind of stuff lol). The club is no longer there. It is now a Lowe's.


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## Baymule

I met my husband at a furniture store where I worked. He had sold the store owner a new car and came in to visit with him. He took one look at me and fell in love. It took me a little while longer...….


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## Bruce

I can understand that. Car salesmen as a group don't have the best reputation.


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## Baymule

Bruce said:


> I can understand that. Car salesmen as a group don't have the best reputation.


Wrong again. He had been in the same place for many, many years. His repeat customers went to the 3rd generation, where customers brought their 16 year olds to buy a (usually) used car, those kids grew up and brought their kids, those kids grew up and brought their kids...… He always had a drawer full of candy, while parents had their cars in service, the kids were in his office. The walls of his office were covered with kids school pictures that the kids themselves insisted on bringing to him. He mentored many kids, helping them and keeping them from going down the wrong path. He sponsored 4-H and FFA kids, they all hit him up and he never turned them down. A lot of kids thought of him as a second Dad. People came to him once to buy a car and after that, would deal with no one else. His reputation was sterling.


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## Bruce

Then why did it take you longer than it took him?  He does sound like a great guy.


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## Latestarter

Well gosh... I don't suppose she would have KNOWN all this on first seeing the guy... I bet it took her at least a month or two to get the inside dope on him. He is a great guy BTW.


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## Baymule

Bruce said:


> Then why did it take you longer than it took him?  He does sound like a great guy.




Because I was married to a jerk whose girlfriends were uglier than me.... I had two kids, certainly wasn't looking for ANYONE, trying to get out of a miserable existence to a bi-polar certified crazy ba$tard who put me through the second worst divorce case my attorney had ever handled in her entire career. The first worst divorce she handled-the husband killed her client. 

BJ cooled his heels and scooped me up at the first opportunity. And the rest is history. We have been happy for 22 years.


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## Mike CHS

Baymule said:


> BJ cooled his heels and scooped me up at the first opportunity. And the rest is history. We have been happy for 22 years.



I love it that many on here are exactly who they seem to be and your story about you and BJ is pretty closed to what I would have expected from you guys.


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## Latestarter

They are a fun couple to watch... kinda like scrappy chickens in the barnyard. They love each other (obvious) but do have a go at each other as the need arises... Fun to hear them "discuss" things...


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## Baymule

Latestarter said:


> They are a fun couple to watch... kinda like scrappy chickens in the barnyard. They love each other (obvious) but do have a go at each other as the need arises... Fun to hear them "discuss" things...


We are both VERY strong people, independent, bull headed, don't take crap from anybody and yeah, we clash......but always wind up laughing.


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## RollingAcres

I love hearing about how couples met.
I see that we once again hijacked STA's journal.


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## Bruce

Baymule said:


> Because I was married to a jerk whose girlfriends were uglier than me


Well there's the best reason I can think of! So lucky that BJ came along when he did and came with patience


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## greybeard

RollingAcres said:


> Please do tell. Were you both in line to check out?


She was the cashier.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

RollingAcres said:


> I love hearing about how couples met.
> I see that we once again hijacked STA's journal.



I love hearing these stories as well.  As for hijacking the journal, that's quite all right.  There is only so much comic relief I can provide.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> There is only so much comic relief I can provide.


LOL


----------



## Mike CHS

That cracked me up also.  

Teresa and I were friends for quite awhile before we dated.  She was a manager in an O'Charleys that I frequented and she would always drop by and chat for quite awhile if they weren't busy.  One night I mentioned a movie that was coming out that I would like to see if I had someone to see it with.  I don't remember exactly what she said but it was something like "All you have to do is ask hard head".


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## Latestarter

Hard head huh?


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## Baymule

Mike CHS said:


> I don't remember exactly what she said but it was something like "All you have to do is ask hard head".


Sounds like she already knew you, real well!


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## CntryBoy777

Joyce and I met each other in Greer, South Carolina and 8 months later....after being locked up in a truck for that length of time and both were still living....we got married in Las Vegas.....


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## frustratedearthmother

Internet dating sight...pathetic huh?  (but it worked!)


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## Mike CHS

The only thing that matters FEM is that it worked. 

I've lost track of how many happy friends we have that met that way.


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## frustratedearthmother

18 years and counting!     Much more common nowadays...wasn't so readily accepted waaaay back then, lol!


----------



## Wehner Homestead

I’ll add mine just because y’all will get a kick out of it. DH and I met showing livestock at the state fair. I had cattle and he had pigs. I was 14 and he was 15. His cousin had taken a heifer up with our steers and she was acting up because she was in heat and making our steers crazy. His uncle called him to come help walk them to tie outs because they didn’t want any of us girls leading them. He was telling a story to a circle of people when I walked up to my stall and he started talking to just me. Dated for 5.5 years, engaged for almost a year, will be married 10 years this Dec. 

He was showing cattle his last three years of 4-H. 

We went out to dinner at The Oak Room, a 5 star restaurant in Louisville. I was convinced it was a practice run because he didn’t have a ring yet. (Friends/family all worked hard on convincing me of that one.) He got up from his chair and down on one knee beside mine. I said “what are you doing?” and buried my head in his shoulder. He asked if I’d marry him and I said “Of course!” He was like is that a yes or a no? Lol


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## RollingAcres

Mike CHS said:


> That cracked me up also.
> 
> Teresa and I were friends for quite awhile before we dated.  She was a manager in an O'Charleys that I frequented and she would always drop by and chat for quite awhile if they weren't busy.  One night I mentioned a movie that was coming out that I would like to see if I had someone to see it with.  I don't remember exactly what she said but it was something like "All you have to do is ask hard head".


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## Wehner Homestead

I’m loving reading everyone’s experiences!!


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## RollingAcres

Wehner Homestead said:


> I’m loving reading everyone’s experiences!!


Me too! See what @greybeard started?! Lol


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I love hearing these stories as well.  As for hijacking the journal, that's quite all right.  There is only so much comic relief I can provide.


That is probably good because your comic relief often involves breakage or near breakage  Of course others of us that are also new to this "land owning and maintaining" thing are quite happy to learn from your experiences and questions.



Mike CHS said:


> That cracked me up also.
> 
> Teresa and I were friends for quite awhile before we dated.  She was a manager in an O'Charleys that I frequented and she would always drop by and chat for quite awhile if they weren't busy.  One night I mentioned a movie that was coming out that I would like to see if I had someone to see it with.  I don't remember exactly what she said but it was something like "All you have to do is ask hard head".


"and she would always drop by and chat for quite awhile if they weren't busy."
And that didn't suggest something to you? Did she stop and chat up all the other patrons as well?



Wehner Homestead said:


> He was showing cattle his last three years of 4-H.


Switched to your kind of animals I see.


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## Wehner Homestead

RollingAcres said:


> Me too! See what @greybeard started?! Lol


I think he needs to give more detail about how checking out with groceries turned into a marriage!


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## Wehner Homestead

Bruce said:


> Switched to your kind of animals I see.



Yep! Still favors them over swine to this day!


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## greybeard

Bruce said:


> That is probably good because your comic relief often involves breakage or near breakage


Oh.the irony...
https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/bruces-journal.34651/page-185#post-571726


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## RollingAcres

Wehner Homestead said:


> I think he needs to give more detail about how checking out with groceries turned into a marriage!


Agree! I wonder if @greybeard would wait to checkout at her line....



greybeard said:


> Oh.the irony...
> https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/bruces-journal.34651/page-185#post-571726


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## Ridgetop

I think STA is rushing to catch up to the rest of us in our near disaster misses.  He has already experiences a lot in just a short amount of time!   Senile_Texas_Aggie You are an overachiever!


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## Bruce

True, we "late to the game" folks don't have near as much time to make all those mistakes!


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## Ridgetop

I am impressed by the speed with which you are catching up!


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## greybeard

RollingAcres said:


> Agree! I wonder if @greybeard would wait to checkout at her line....



Nope. Didn't have to,tho more than that I won't say. To be honest, she did it all and I'm both lucky it was that way and I'm glad of it tho I do have to confess, for the first few months it was rough and I was glad when she finally slowed down some..., if ya get my drift.  That day I met her, I was 42 and she hadn't quite turned 28.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Wednesday morning my wife and I decided to continue working on clearing out the overgrowth and thinning the trees in the woods next to our driveway.  It was really cool and humid that morning.  We were able to work several hours thanks to the coolness.  But the lack of a grapple made moving the cut trees slow work.  So yesterday I decided that we would no longer work at clearing the woods until the grapple is repaired.  Instead, I decided to do a lot of the little chores that I had been postponing until we had finished the woods along the drive.

The first thing I did was to convert the overhead lighting circuit from 240V to 120V by moving the white wire from one of the 240V legs to the neutral bus.  I then turned the circuit back on.  The LED lights still worked but the mercury vapor lights no longer came on.  That was no real loss as I planned to remove those lights anyway and replace with LEDs (which I had already purchased).

Next, I decided to see if I could determine what was wrong with the Gator.  It has been running poorly for a couple of months now but with it having been so hot and with my wife and me focusing on clearing out around the pond and now the woods along the driveway, by the time we finished working I just was not interested.  But with our taking the day off from working in the woods I decided it was time to try to figure out what was wrong with the Gator.  I had bought a spark plug voltage check tool, as I was thinking that maybe one of the 3 ignition modules was weak.  The first cylinder I tried was OK.  But when I checked the second cylinder, I noticed that the spark plug boot looked burned and was cracked.  The light bulb went on -- I wondered if the spark was leaking out of the boot to ground.  When I wrapped the boot with electrical tape (just as a check) and put the boot back on the spark plug, then the Gator started and ran just fine!  Doh!  I had changed the plugs earlier and had failed to notice the cracked boot.  So later yesterday I drove to Fort Smith to get several items and stopped at a John Deere dealership while there and bought a new set of spark plug wires.  So now the Gator is back in top shape again!

Today I installed the LED lights in the shop.  I had plans of doing more but straining my back putting up those lights made me decide to take a break and I checked to see what was going on here in BYH!

Here is a picture of the sunrise we saw this morning:

 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## RollingAcres

That sunrise picture is beautiful!

Nothing much here in BYH, we've just been "hijacking" your journal and talking about how we met our significant other. Come to think of it, you didn't tell us yet about how you and Mrs. STA met (if you did, I must have missed it).


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I want to announce to the BYHers following this journal of a new award called the "@greybeard Zinger Award(tm)".  It is to be awarded to anyone who receives a pithy observation (a "Zinger") from our very own Mr. @greybeard!  I was tempted to award it to Mr. @Bruce when Mr. @greybeard made the observation "Oh.the irony..." above.  But then I figured that wouldn't be fair to Mr. Bruce when if I were to go back in my own journal I would find many such Greybeard Zinger Awards!  After all, my journal is a target rich environment!    So I will start with myself, telling a story for which I am fairly certain that Mr. Greybeard will have an appropriate Zinger response.

Earlier this morning I decided to sharpen the chains on both the chainsaw and the pole saw.  The chain on the pole saw had come off the bar, so I took the pole saw apart, cleaned out all of the saw dust, put the chain back on the bar and reassembled the pole saw.  I then decided to sharpen the chain.  This particular chain has two teeth in succession oriented in the same direction, and I normally start sharpening there so that I will know when I have sharpened the entire chain when I encounter those two teeth again.  Well, this time when I started to sharpen the chain I could not find those two teeth.  "That's weird!" I thought.  Oh, well, I decided to mark a tooth with a black marker and begin sharpening.  There was something about the sharpening that did not seem right, although I could not put my finger on it.  I had almost sharpened all of the teeth in a given orientation when it finally hit me what was wrong -- I had put the chain on backwards!

As the initial recipient of the "Greybeard Zinger Award(tm)", I have created this picture/symbol as a distinguished marker for each of us who will receive this award:


 

So, Mr. @greybeard, what Greybeard Zinger are you going to award me with?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

My wife and I met a week before her 14th birthday, a few months before my 19th birthday.  She, her next older sister, and their two cousins were walking down the street in front of my house while I was washing my car.  I gave them all a wolf whistle.  Not surprisingly, she was underwhelmed.  I met her and her next older sister a couple of weeks later.  We started talking and I started visiting her house.  I got to be good friends with their next older brother, so me and my cousin started running around with her brother and his cousin (an older brother of the 2 cousins they were walking with).  Whenever I visited their house I would tease her about something or other.  But we went from a tolerated friendship to a genuine friendship to a mutual love.  We were married just a couple of weeks before the 4th anniversary of our first having met.


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## RollingAcres

That's a sweet story.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I gave them all a wolf whistle


----------



## Latestarter

Gosh STA... I think most of us have reinstalled a chain backwards at least once. Part and parcel of the lifestyle we've chosen.   Although I have to observe, I'd think you'd have noticed the discrepancy when starting the sharpening vice finishing. Needless, you DID notice and I assume corrected the situation promptly. Then I trust you resharpened said blade in the proper direction/orientation   Sorry to hear about the back issue... Many here can identify with that as well. Hope it's just a muscle strain and it relaxes soon for you.

ETA: you cradle robber you!  Glad you found your one and only early on.


----------



## Bruce

Hmmm, calculating, calculating, calculating. Result! You've been married a long time! 
I bet if you can remember her birthday you don't likely forget your anniversary since they are only a few weeks apart. 

How long until the grapple is fixed? Nice work on the Gator and the lighting, I'm sure you will like the LEDs better than the MV lights, and the electricity savings as well. OK, not so much nice work on the pole saw chain but ASSUMING you were sharpening the teeth matching the existing angle of each, no harm, no foul. Be glad you figured it out before you tried to use the saw with the bottom of the teeth not engaging the sprocket. Congratulations on your award though!


----------



## Ridgetop

Congratulations on becoming a Super BYHer what with the fixing the lights and the Gator.  Then you posted your tale of the chain . . . .

So familiar . . . .


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Be glad you figured it out before you tried to use the saw with the bottom of the teeth not engaging the sprocket. Congratulations on your award though!


On Stihl (and most other) saws, the drive sprocket teeth and the bar nose sprocket teeth will engage the chain just fine whether the chain is installed correctly or backwards.

Look at where the sprocket teeth actually engage the chain--way up in there near the root of the bar followers.





(you don't run a Stihl chain like those old 1950s McCuloughs or Poulan, with 1/4"+ of chain slop hanging down off the bottom of the bar.)
Like  fences and filters, .................... if it ain't tight, it ain't right.

And, if you've never had one do it, lots of chainsaws (and other 2 cycl engines) will start and run backwards under certain circumstances...like a half hearted pull of the start rope.


----------



## Bruce

greybeard said:


> And, if you've never had one do it, lots of chainsaws (and other 2 cycl engines) will start and run backwards under certain circumstances...like a half hearted pull of the start rope.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Hello, everyone,

Sorry that I have been slow to post any news, so now I will try to catch up on everything.

Monday the tractor dealer called around noon and said the cylinder for the grapple was ready.  I drove over to Alma (about 2 hours round trip) to get the cylinder.  Once I got back home, I hoisted the grapple out of my truck using the FEL and a chain and managed to bend the railing on my cargo cover, now making it hard to close (doh!).  Once I got the grapple out, I installed the cylinder on the grapple and then tested it out.  It worked fine.  Yay!

On Tuesday, with the grapple no longer in the bed of the truck, we now had room for the tile that was waiting at Lowe's to be picked up, which we had ordered a couple of weeks ago.  So we drove back to Fort Smith (across the Arkansas River from Alma) and picked up the tile.  While there, my wife saw a propane gas stove on sale, so we decided to buy it to replace the electric stove we currently have.  But there was not enough room in the bed of the truck for both the tile and the stove.  So after returning home, I removed the grapple from the tractor (improperly -- more on this later) and installed the forks, offloading the tile onto the porch.  I then drove back to Lowe's and picked up the stove, offloading it also with the forks and setting the stove on the porch, too.

On Wednesday, I decided to install the grapple and the box blade, as the driveway had several potholes and gullies washing in it, especially on the hill from the creek to the gate.  So after removing the forks, I installed the grapple, but was unable to install the hydraulic lines.  I could not get the male end hydraulic line from the grapple to go into the female end of the line on the tractor.  I worked on the problem for 2 hours, using wrenches, clamps, hammers, crow bars -- nothing would work.  So I looked at YouTube for some ideas -- still nothing.  I finally called the service department at the dealer, who told me to try something to see if it was the problem.  It was.  The problem turned out to be pressure in the hydraulic line of the grapple that was preventing the poppet from sliding into the male connector and thus preventing the connectors from mating(*).  To relieve the pressure, I had to loosen the hydraulic line at the T connector in the grapple to let the hydraulic fluid leak out and relieve the pressure.  Once that happened, I was able to connect the two lines.  To prevent the problem in the future, whenever I stop the tractor, I need to wait until the engine stops and then turn the key back on and then try to open and close the grapple jaws.  That will relieve the pressure in the grapple lines.

Once I solved the grapple problem and installed the box blades, I then worked on the driveway and the parking area.  Initially I set the scarifiers as deep as they would go and tilted the right end of the box blade lower, thus digging more towards the shoulder of the driveway instead of the middle.  I made a pass along the driveway from the house to the gate, then from the gate back to the house.  Then I leveled the box blade and went down the middle of the driveway from the house to the gate.  Before getting to the gate, I happened to see a retainer clip on the driveway.  I stopped, then looked behind to see if there was a missing clip from the boxblade.  There was, missing from the top link connector pin.  I immediately raised the boxblade on the 3-point and went back to the shop.  Then I took this picture:
 
You may not can see it clearly, but the pin holding the boxblade to the toplink was almost out of the swivel ball of the toplink.  But the swivel ball had rotated and jammed the swivel ball against the side opposite the pin, and was also pinching the pin.  I could not remove the pin.  I tried pliers, hammers, crow bars -- nothing worked.  I decided to hook a heavy duty chain to the pin handle and the other end to the Gator's tow bar and give it a good yank.  It still did not come out, but one thing it did do was jam the chain hook onto the Gator's tow bar:
 
Good grief!  I had to remove the chain from the hook and beat on the hook for about 10 minutes before I could remove the hook from the Gator's bumper!  Now back to the pin on the tractor.  This time, the crowbar was able to move the toplink enough that I could remove the pin!  The pin was bent too much to use again, so I decided to wait till tomorrow to continue.

On Thursday, after getting a new pin from the hardware store, I was able to get started earlier and I worked most of the day.  Once I finished, I had mixed feelings about the results.  The driveway turned out not to shabby -- the gullies and potholes are gone, but I dug up a good amount of dirt with the gravel.  I am hoping that the rains will help wash the dirt back down into the driveway, leaving the gravel.  The parking area, though, is a mess.  I am unable to smooth out the ruts that the scarifiers made without also moving a lot of the gravel to one side or the other of the parking area, which is not a good thing to do.  So I am at a loss at the moment.  _Any ideas from you folks?  Is there a YouTube video, Boxblading 101, that's worth a crap?_

Senile Texas Aggie

(*) Miss @Baymule, I look forward to your comments about hydraulic lines mating!


----------



## Latestarter

Damn STA... if it's not one thing it's another. You have to be at the laughter point by now... crying just won't help... Sorry for the truck damage, pin damage, hydraulic fluid loss, gator damage, and any other damage...

As for the parking area, can you put the FEL back on, tilt it down, just past level/horizontal (on the bucket), and then apply downward pressure on it to remove most weight from the front tires, then back the blade across the area to "scrape" it smooth?


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## CntryBoy777

Dang @Latestarter with his luck he'd rip the FEL right off the hinges..........don't worry STA, I seem to have the same problem as ya....I just don't have a tractor....


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## greybeard

Latestarter said:


> As for the parking area, can you put the FEL back on, tilt it down, just past level/horizontal (on the bucket), and then apply downward pressure on it to remove most weight from the front tires, then back the blade across the area to "scrape" it smooth?


Needs to tilt the FEL bucket down, so the cutting edge is past level about 25º.
Then, on the loader control lever, if he pushes the lever straight all the way forward, past the detent, (the handle will stay all the way forward when he lets go of it)  the fel bucket will be in the "float" position. Positioning the bucket as explained above, then going into 'float', he can back drag with the fel easily, getting only the loose stuff.
You can also use the box blade driving in reverse if it has the little flap on the rear.
Box blades are for moving earth.....straight blades are for leveling dirt, and you yaw the straight blade around 180º for the fine smoothing work..

Should be some space at end of the toplink where there are no threads. If it happens again........


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> The problem turned out to be pressure in the hydraulic line of the grapple that was preventing the poppet from sliding into the male connector and thus preventing the connectors from mating


I'll have to put that one in the back of my mind, probably need to know it sometime ... if I can find it in the dust.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce/STA, if you have this type quick connection (may be a ball instead of poppet) or some variation of it, all you have to do is grab the end of the hose about 5" above the qc connection and sharply (no strongly) jap it against any rigid clean surface. The ball (or poppet) is spring loaded and will go in momentarily and release the captive pressure within the line and you'll immediately feel and see the hose become a bit limp and you can then go ahead and connect the line.




IF, the hose on the grapple is the female, then you may want to do as STA was advised and loosen a fitting upstream somewhere, tho I usually find something small and smooth and press down inside the fitting to depress that poppet.

IF you have the type where both ends are smooth, then you have no choice but to loosen a line. I hate loosening lines if I do not have to. Eventually, they will begin to leak if you don't re-tighten them a little tighter each time, which leads to premature failure of the sealing surfaces.

Now, if your hydraulic line is a weco 5-10KPSI wp like this one, go ask someone else how to do it....


----------



## Mike CHS

I don't use my box blade on gravel for just the reasons mentioned.    I do a lot of going in reverse with the front end loader like Joe suggested to fix problem areas but I use a landscape rake on the driveways and it does a good job.


----------



## Baymule

Mike CHS said:


> I don't use my box blade on gravel for just the reasons mentioned.    I do a lot of going in reverse with the front end loader like Joe suggested to fix problem areas but I use a landscape rake on the driveways and it does a good job.


That is exactly what we do! We have a box blade, but I don't think we have ever used it.


----------



## greybeard

I have pretty hard, compacted clay and iron ore. It gets harder than a hooker's heart in summer.

I altered one of my box blades so it would actually cut below it's frame. I had some old road grader scraper blades I got from the county and shortened one to fit my box blade and installed it over  (in front of) the oem blade so it will peel an 1 1/2" of material up into the box area and usually don't have to use the scarifiers..It will still move lots of dirt tho and only lose a little out the sides.


----------



## greybeard

Baymule said:


> That is exactly what we do! We have a box blade, but I don't think we have ever used it.


I have used mine a LOT. I dig ditches with it, level, pile brush to burn, pull stumps up, clear debris off fences, clean out the loafing shed, spread manure, knocked down fire ant mounds, and have welded a piece of channel iron on the back to connect a trailer to..anytime I don't want or need to start the heavier backhoe loader combo. I have a rake and have used it a lot as well. 
My father used one to dig a 14' deep by 40' diameter pond years ago...along with a 3pt dirt scoop.


----------



## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> The problem turned out to be pressure in the hydraulic line of the grapple that was preventing the poppet from sliding into the male connector and thus preventing the connectors from mating(*).  To relieve the pressure, I had to loosen the hydraulic line at the T connector in the grapple to let the hydraulic fluid leak out and relieve the pressure.  Once that happened, I was able to connect the two lines.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie
> 
> (*) Miss @Baymule, I look forward to your comments about hydraulic lines mating!



The first thing that pops into my mind, I'd better not post..... I must commend you for calling and asking for help. I've always had a hard time keeping a straight face when conversing about male and female connectors. The fact that the male end was pressured and that you had to let fluid leak out, just makes it funnier.


----------



## Baymule

GB, we just use the FEL.


----------



## Bruce

Baymule said:


> The first thing that pops into my mind, I'd better not post..... I must commend you for calling and asking for help. I've always had a hard time keeping a straight face when conversing about male and female connectors. The fact that the male end was pressured and that you had to let fluid leak out, just makes it funnier.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions.  I will try the FEL bucket.  I have never tried to put the FEL into float -- I didn't know that I could do that -- so I will try that and see how it works.  I may decide to get a landscape rake as well.  I know I have to do something, as the rain made the parking area into a muddy mess -- it looks like I had several loads of dirt hauled in and dumped on the parking area.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

I'd rather have the holes (and do) than try to grade my clay road.
I learned the hard way..never try to work wet soil.

Rakes have their limitations but have come in handy here.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Baymule said:


> I've always had a hard time keeping a straight face when conversing about male and female connectors.


Have you ever had to go buy a certain part for your toilet?  I had to write that one down, lol.  Just couldn't say it!


----------



## greybeard

frustratedearthmother said:


> Have you ever had to go buy a certain part for your toilet?  I had to write that one down, lol.  Just couldn't say it!


I thought I had bought every part there is to a toilet and have never heard of anything toilet related that is risque.


----------



## Baymule

frustratedearthmother said:


> Have you ever had to go buy a certain part for your toilet?  I had to write that one down, lol.  Just couldn't say it!


When I worked for a garbage company, I had to purchase a toilet seat for the mechanics bathroom. I went to Lowes and placed it on the sales counter and told the lady I was buying a picture frame. She looked dubiously at me, scanned it and said, "It's not coming up as a picture frame, this is a toilet seat." I rambled on, saying that it was, in fact a_ picture frame_ and it was going in the mechanics bathroom. It would serve to frame_ ugly pictures_ that no one in their right mind would ever want to see, and would be scarred forever if they looked at the_ pictures...…._ It took her awhile to catch on, people in line behind me were snickering, before long the whole group were laughing and everybody was having a good time......_picture frames!_


----------



## frustratedearthmother

greybeard said:


> I thought I had bought every part there is to a toilet and have never heard of anything toilet related that is risque.


Maybe it's just me...


----------



## greybeard

frustratedearthmother said:


> Maybe it's just me...


rhymes with?


----------



## Bruce

frustratedearthmother said:


> Maybe it's just me...


Oh just spit it out! If you could write it down for the person at the store, you can write it down here. 



greybeard said:


> I learned the hard way..never try to work wet soil.


That is my understanding. Like tilling wet ground is just an exercise in futility. When you are done and it does dry up, you supposedly get rock hard clumps. The wet "soil" I "worked" was the stuff I dug out of the pond, dropped on the pile and watched it slide down. That stuff doesn't let its water go easily, takes forever for even the surface to dry out.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Oh just spit it out! If you could write it down for the person at the store, you can write it down here.


Perhaps it was a faux pas/......

I once worked at a drilling company..for many years actually, and among our duties was taking care of all the company vehicles, including the car belonging to the office manger, that just happened to be wife of the vice prez.  One day, she noticed a hum type noise coming from the back of her car, drove it back to the shop, drove it right inside and got out and asked in a very loud voice (toward us mechanical types) "_Could one of you guys come over hear and  check my rear end?_"


----------



## frustratedearthmother

ok, ok, ok…. ballcock


----------



## greybeard

Oh lordy, how could you say that here?????....
Just joking. 
Another term is ....float & valve assembly.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

greybeard said:


> Another term is ....float & valve assembly.


That's good to know, lol!!


----------



## Rammy

frustratedearthmother said:


> ok, ok, ok…. ballcock


----------



## Bruce

frustratedearthmother said:


> ok, ok, ok…. ballcock


See, now that wasn't so hard was it??


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Not as hard as going to the hardware store and telling a strange guy you really, really need one!


----------



## greybeard

Just how strange was he.......?


----------



## Baymule

frustratedearthmother said:


> ok, ok, ok…. ballcock


And you are talking to a crowd with animals......that many if not most have held such anatomical parts in our hands.....or whipped out a sharp knife and cut those balls off. LOL


----------



## frustratedearthmother

And, so have I.  Plenty of times, lol.  Just a bit of a different crowd.


----------



## Baymule

And this is a site where we post pictures of reproductive parts, animal porn. You were reluctant to post plumbing parts?


----------



## Devonviolet

Mike CHS said:


> I love it that many on here are exactly who they seem to be and your story about you and BJ is pretty closed to what I would have expected from you guys.


I can attest to the fact that @Baymule & her DH are awesome people, in person. Why, they love each other _almost_ as much as my DH & I love each other.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Baymule said:


> And this is a site where we post pictures of reproductive parts, animal porn. You were reluctant to post plumbing parts?



Well shoot me now, lol!        Bay - you crack me up.  First time I've ever been called out for being  conservative!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, yesterday I took a break from fooling with the driveway and parking lot and decided to install an instantaneous hot water dispenser.  Little did I know just what fun I was about to have.  First, I discovered that the garbage disposal and sewer drain pipe prevented me from mounting it where there was a hole in the sink where the soap dispenser was.  Since my wife had sprayed the dispenser faucet with paint to match our oil-rubbed bronze faucets, then I knew that I could not return the dispenser.  So I decided to cut the tubes going to the tank and go to the hardware store to get fittings to extend the tubing from the dispenser faucet to the tank.  It took three trips to the hardware store to finally get everything needed to get the dispenser installed and working.  But the three trips in the dually truck on the driveway, which is still quite soft from the rain, pretty much ruined whatever was nice from the boxblade work!  

Today I will be looking for health insurance for me and my wife.  When I retired last October, I decided to take COBRA for the insurance.  That will end at the end of the year, so now I will be looking for insurance for both of us.  While I am covered by Medicare, my wife is not old enough yet, so I will be having to find private health insurance for her.  What can you folks advice me regarding private health insurance?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Mike CHS

I don't know any details but I think Farm Bureau offers health plans.  We have everything else through them and have been pleased with the price and service.


----------



## farmerjan

If she is in good health, try going on line and looking up Liberty Health Share Plans.  It is like the christian based plan Medishare, but they do not require you to be a member of a specific church but to just be of christian faith.  When I was in danger of losing my full time status about 2 years ago, I had talked to them and was going to get mine through them.  Since I am about 30 lbs. overweight for my height, it was going to cost me about $275. a month.... there are some limitations, and restrictions,  but it would be in your best interests to at least look into them.  Not to be nosy, but how long before your wife can qualify for medicare?  I just turned 65 in Sept., and will be on medicare in Dec as that is when our fiscal year at work rolls over, and with the farms that are selling out and skipping tests, I will be losing my full time status for sure.  It is kinda a blessing that is is working out this way for me.  I wanted to stay on the ins at work for as long as possible, since we have a health savings plan and they match $1500 per year.... but if I lose my full time status then I am better off going on medicare.  Plus with medicare, I won't have to deal with the outrageous high deductible of $6500  that we have.  I am better off with medicare, and I will have gotten my full allowance from the health savings match for the year.  
One of my farmers has Liberty and is very satisfied with it.  It's a health cost "sharing plan"  and he said they take a little longer to pay you back, but it has been good for them.  There's him, his wife,  and 2 of the 3 boys on it, the oldest  has medical through his job I think.


----------



## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> What can you folks advice me regarding private health insurance?
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie



Rots of Ruck!


----------



## Latestarter

Sorry... I'm of no help in that I'm in the VA system so have no insurance at all. I will file for Medicare when I hit 65 and then use that along with the VA. Hope you can find something comprehensive at a reasonable cost... If that's even possible anymore...


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

farmerjan said:


> they do not require you to be a member of a specific church but to just be of christian faith.



Rats!  That leaves my wife out, because we are both atheists.


----------



## RollingAcres

Oh my, reading all those x rated posts from y'all really hurt my virgin eyes!!!


----------



## RollingAcres

STA good luck with your insurance search.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, Miss @RollingAcres!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, I thought I'd let you folks know what we have been doing in our spare time -- cleaning out the small creek (really, an overgrown natural drainage ditch) next to the driveway near the house.  The woods were so overgrown that you could not see through them to the pasture, even though the grove was only 10 or so yards wide.  Here is what it looked like on Sep 13:

  .

Then, after over a month of sweat and cursing green vines, etc., it now looks like this.  The first picture was taken from the spot of the two "befores" above.  The third picture shows two substantially sized pine trees we didn't even know were there:
   

We have now started on the creek that runs through our property, on the west side of the drive toward the gate.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Mike CHS

I know how hard that work is but also know the feeling of reward when you finish a section.


----------



## Rammy

Nice job! I know you are happy thats done. Looks much better. Your hard work is paying off.


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Well, I thought I'd let you folks know what we have been doing in our spare time -- cleaning out the small creek (really, an overgrown natural drainage ditch) next to the driveway near the house.  The woods were so overgrown that you could not see through them to the pasture, even though the grove was only 10 or so yards wide.  Here is what it looked like on Sep 13:
> View attachment 53953 View attachment 53954 .
> 
> Then, after over a month of sweat and cursing green vines, etc., it now looks like this.  The first picture was taken from the spot of the two "befores" above.  The third picture shows two substantially sized pine trees we didn't even know were there:
> View attachment 53955 View attachment 53959 View attachment 53961
> 
> We have now started on the creek that runs through our property, on the west side of the drive toward the gate.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


Looks good...it should drain better now, and, you don't have to be as worried about brush 'creep'. That creep, is where trees and big brush expand their branches out, making it hard to mow close and every year, the smaller, younger underbrush takes in more and more territory. 

Now comes the difficult part, keeping it that way.
You can take it from nature, but she wants it back and unlike you, she never sleeps and never tires. 
Develop a good, long term plan to keep it from all growing back. If you believe it won't, leave it alone till next July and go walk out there and look at high  the re-growth is. 



(Tip......Next time you want to attempt a clearing project like this, it's much easier after the deciduous foliage has dropped off in the fall. )


----------



## Latestarter

I would have to guess that you have become quite familiar now with some of the "tools of the trade" (farming, land ownership). Looks really nice with the work you've done.  Think how much easier it would have been without the tractor and the chainsaw/power tools etc...


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Well, I thought I'd let you folks know what we have been doing in our spare time -- cleaning out the small creek (really, an overgrown natural drainage ditch) next to the driveway near the house.  The woods were so overgrown that you could not see through them to the pasture, even though the grove was only 10 or so yards wide.  Here is what it looked like on Sep 13:
> View attachment 53953 View attachment 53954 .
> 
> Then, after over a month of sweat and cursing green vines, etc., it now looks like this.  The first picture was taken from the spot of the two "befores" above.  The third picture shows two substantially sized pine trees we didn't even know were there:
> View attachment 53955 View attachment 53959 View attachment 53961
> 
> We have now started on the creek that runs through our property, on the west side of the drive toward the gate.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


NICE job, looks fantasti


----------



## farmerjan

It is so very improved with the work you have been doing.  I am very impressed with all that you have done.  Congrats to making it a very attractive area.  And yep @greybeard  is right, nature will do her darndest to take it back!!!!!!


----------



## Baymule

How well I know what you have been doing!!  

I HATE GREENBRIARS!!!!!


----------



## Rammy




----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks to all.  We do plan to try to keep the growth from coming back.  But what is the best way?  Spraying with Roundup & Remedy?  Mowing?  We have a lot of areas we want to trim back, so we are slowly working each area as we go.  Our current area is the creek that flows through our property.  Dummy me forgot to take "before" pictures prior to starting, except for a small section:
 

But once we cleared away some of the brush, we found several trees we did not know were there, growing alongside the creek.  I am not sure what kind of tree they are.  Could you folks help me identify them?  Are they birch?  Ash?  White oak?  Something else?  They have bark on the lower end of the trunk near the ground, but it appears to peel off the higher you go.  I am standing at the base of the tree in the third picture.  Unfortunately I did not have @Mike CHS to stand in front of me and block my face the way he did Miss @Rammy, so you will experience the full shock effect. 
  

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Could you folks help me identify them? Are they birch? Ash? White oak? Something else? They have bark on the lower end of the trunk near the ground, but it appears to peel off the higher you go.


I have quite a few White oak here yet and it's bark doesn't peel off. It's a rough flat kind of bark all the way up, a little lighter in color than other oaks. Acorns of a white oak tend to be larger than other oak acorns. The leaves are distinctive tho.


----------



## RollingAcres

Looks good and good job @Senile_Texas_Aggie !


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, Mr. @greybeard, sir!  Until you posted the picture, the only way I would have known a white oak was if it came up and introduced itself.    I just guessed white oak because of the name.  Having been a small town / suburban dweller my whole life until now, I know very little about trees, bushes, etc.


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> We do plan to try to keep the growth from coming back. But what is the best way? Spraying with Roundup & Remedy? Mowing?



The cut saplings should have been  treated within a few minutes of being cut down..preferably individually.. By now, a thin membrane of impenetrable sap has plugged off the xylem and phloem of the little stumps and herbicide won't do much. I would NOT use roundup tho, especially not widely sprayed. That's a drainage area, it needs grass roots to hold the soil and roundup is non-selective........it kills everything (or so it claims).  You don't want to trade underbrush for erosion.
Next spring, recut the new growth, spray or paint the stumps with a selective post emergent herbicide containing just triclopyr or  one containing triclopyr/picloram/aminopyralid.

Remedy = triclopyr and Grazon Next =triclopyr/picloram/aminopyralid.
Grazon Next is a federally restricted product...you will need an applicator's lic to purchase it. You will not need said lic to buy Remedy. 
Do not spray either product directly on any broadleaf plant or tree you want to keep. Keep it just on the stumps tho a weak mix equating 1 qt herbicide to 100 gal water (cut down of course) sprayed on areas containing both desirable grasses and broadleaf plants will usually just kill the broadleafs and leave the grasses alone. (it will kill clover tho...clover is not a grass...it's a legume)

On cut stumps, you can also use Tordon and it is available by the qt as an RTU product...premixed. It is a mixture of picloram and 2,4d.  I have used Tordon as a cut stump spray and as a 'hack&squirt' treatment. (cut stump treatment works any time during the year as long as it's done right after cutting.)
 "hack&squirt" should be done right now, as the sap is falling and will carry the herbicide to the roots> IMO, this guy went a little overboard with his hacking part. You only need to hack it about 3-4 places around the trunk, not in a continuous circle. It only takes one squirt in each cut. 
There lots of info available on line for both cut stump and 'hack&squirt' methods. 



 
I usually use a hatchet.

I prefer the triclopyr because it has no residual...no soil activity. Grazon does...so does Tordon. that residual effect comes from the picloram. For cut stump and hack&squirt, residual doesn't matter much but for broadcast spray in a pasture, I do not want residual activity.


----------



## Rammy

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Thanks to all.  We do plan to try to keep the growth from coming back.  But what is the best way?  Spraying with Roundup & Remedy?  Mowing?  We have a lot of areas we want to trim back, so we are slowly working each area as we go.  Our current area is the creek that flows through our property.  Dummy me forgot to take "before" pictures prior to starting, except for a small section:
> View attachment 54006
> 
> But once we cleared away some of the brush, we found several trees we did not know were there, growing alongside the creek.  I am not sure what kind of tree they are.  Could you folks help me identify them?  Are they birch?  Ash?  White oak?  Something else?  They have bark on the lower end of the trunk near the ground, but it appears to peel off the higher you go.  I am standing at the base of the tree in the third picture.  Unfortunately I did not have @Mike CHS to stand in front of me and block my face the way he did Miss @Rammy, so you will experience the full shock effect.
> View attachment 54012 View attachment 54015 View attachment 54016
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Devonviolet

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> We do plan to try to keep the growth from coming back. But what is the best way? Spraying with Roundup & Remedy? Mowing?


Personally, I would stay FAR AWAY from RoundUp. That is very toxic. As GB said, it kills everything, and is not safe for you or any future animals you may have. Not to mention, that when it rains, it can wash into streams, which end up taking it to the ocean, where it can kill ocean plants.  I think I heard on the news, lately, that RoundUp is responsible for the awful, toxic, Red Tide in Florida. 

The most efficient way to keep briars and other invasive plants under control, is to run livestock on your property. Goats are very efficient at clearing undergrowth.  FYI, goats browse (eat undergrowth) and sheep and cattle graze (eat grass).


----------



## greybeard

Devonviolet said:


> As GB said, it kills everything, and is not safe for you or any future animals you may have.


I said it 'claims' to kill everything (plant wise). It doesn't.  There's lots of plants it won't even phase.
It has not been shown to bother current or  future livestock animals especially if/when used according to the label directions. The specimen label on any and all pesticides and herbicides Is The Law.

It (Roundup)will kill water plants as well, and of course algae. A pity it can't kill the algae that causes the red tide tho, as dead plants aren't causing red tide....live plants are. It would take way way more than what is used each year to even make a dent in the algae that causes red tide, and even then, it's doubtful.  And Gulf Coast red tides have been documented going back as far as the 16th century, well before glycosphate was developed. And it's not the algae that actually causes the problem.......it's a brevotoxin the algae creates. (named after the algae _Karenia brevis_.)  _K.brevis_ is always in the water, but when nutrients in the water increase, _K.brevis_ really starts growing and reproducing and as a side effect/waste product, make more brevotoxin.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...-red-tide-wildlife-deaths-marine-life-toxins/


----------



## Bruce

STA, do you have a picture of the leaves on the trees in question? And a close up the bark, peeling and not?


----------



## Baymule

Without a close up of the leaves, I would guess sycamore. It has a very attractive peeling bark that exposes the white bark underneath. 

http://tree-pictures.com/sycamore_tree_photos.html


----------



## greybeard

Baymule said:


> Without a close up of the leaves, I would guess sycamore. It has a very attractive peeling bark that exposes the white bark underneath.
> 
> http://tree-pictures.com/sycamore_tree_photos.html


They like to drop limbs too. They have a pleasant odor about them tho, I think it's from the balls, which will dry up and blow away in little wisps.


 

You could I suppose, always replace the sycamores with juniper.


----------



## Mike CHS

I like the look of Sycamores but they are among the first to come down after heavy rains and then some wind.


----------



## greybeard

The 2 sycamores I have in the back yard thus far, have done ok. They kinda been thru a lot but are still standing.
Northeast back yard





Opposite side of back yard




In my area, white oaks are shallow rooted, with no tap root at all. They grow like corn is rooted...on top of the ground ..almost. A wide diameter root system almost as wide a circle as the foliage crown. Wide rooted, but shallow rooted. They're the 1st thing that blows down if the ground is saturated and a wind comes up. 
Red oaks are much deeper rooted and hold up better.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I will try to get a closeup view of the leaves for everyone.  Now I have another question on a situation that concerns me.  There is a hole in the ground in my pasture that I thought was a stump hole where the wood had rotted away.  But yesterday while sitting on the porch, we noticed water from the pasture going up to the hole but not going past it.  So drove down in the Gator to take a closer look.  Water was indeed going into the hole and disappearing underground.  This morning, after the rains stopped, I drove down again to see if I could find where the water was coming back up to the surface.  It turned out it resurfaces just inside the woods from the pasture, about 10-15 yards from the hole.  But I also noticed something even more concerning to me -- water was flowing out of the ground into the hole and then flowing back into the ground.  So somewhere farther into the pasture is where the water is entering the ground.  Here is a picture of the hole.  The white rods are PVC pipe that I used to mark the hole so I wouldn't drive into it.
 

Here is how far away from the woods the hole is:
 

Here is where the water comes out at the edge of the woods:
 

I am concerned about the ground collapsing between the hole and the woods, and maybe even from the hole farther into the pasture.  What do you folks recommend that I do?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Mike CHS

Looks like a sinkhole but I'm no help on what to do about it (if anything can be done) so hopefully someone else will.


----------



## Rammy

Stay away from it and hope it doesnt get any bigger. I know some people have had that happen around here and they either fill it up eventually, or use it for a trash dump. Good place to burn things. If you have any animals out there, I would fence it off. That way they wont fall into it. A farmer across from my Mom had a baby calf fall in one and wasnt able to get it out in time.


----------



## Bruce

That is mighty scary. Sure glad you didn't find it with the tractor while mowing! It does seem reasonable to think that the water path to the woods could also collapse at least to some degree but I have no personal knowledge of such things.


----------



## greybeard

Graboids...Nobody move!
Call this guy Now!







Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> It turned out it resurfaces just inside the woods from the pasture, about 10-15 yards from the hole. But I also noticed something even more concerning to me -- water was flowing out of the ground into the hole and then flowing back into the ground. So somewhere farther into the pasture is where the water is entering the ground.






I'm a little confused about the underlined part....

1. runoff rain water flows along the surface till it encounters a hole and the water  enters said hole.
2. the runoff water travels underground approx 12 yards, then resurfaces via another hole at the edge of the woods.


Water, is entering the ground Everywhere in the pasture from surface, down thru the topsoil and if permeable, down into and perhaps even thru the next layer which is the subsoil, and eventually down thru several layers until it reaches an aquifer.  Gravity at work of course, but we all tend to carry a somewhat skewed view and idea of gravity when it comes to water.
Soil strata tends to all run the same way, regardless of which level it is.....topsoil, subsoil, semipermeable boundary, sand vein, small rock vein, impermeable clay, another sand vein, solid rock may all be found, stacked one upon another, but that doesn't mean each is perfectly flat...they will generally, all follow whatever the terrain is at the lower levels, as all the upper levels were over geological time, laid down on whatever the lower levels are.
The very top layer, is usually flat to our eyes because it has been swept flat over the eons by natural forces like wind, and even ice sheets or by man's endeavors.

So, the water seeps down between the topsoil particles, into the next layer, and on down, BUT, remember, IF a fluid can go down THRU a strata, it can also go OUT into a strata in all directions.

But what if the layers aren't nice and flat, but instead, slope down toward a natural or manmade depression just as the very top of the topsoil does? (this is usually the case). Pond, Lake, river valley, ocean...the permeable strata all direct water into itself vertically and thru themselves horizontally toward the lowest point. If it is easier for the water to flow 'sideways thru a strata than down to & thru  the next layer, it will do so...always moving via the path of last resistance.
Since the strata is permeable, the water flows down the slope toward and into the depression.
Every drop of rain that falls on the western and northern 1/3 of my place finds it's way into my pond...one way or another. After a lengthy good rain here, I can go down to my pond and see water flowing out of the pond's steep sides and into the pond even tho surface runoff has already abated. This is yesterday's rain following the strata down to the local 'depression'.


Your washout may very well began as a rotted out stump allowing surface water to flow down to the substrata but gravity and the weight of the water made it seek an alternative course to the lowest point. Fines (tiny particles held tightly together) are what keeps water from flowing parallel thru the strata and over time, those fines can sometimes get washed out from between the larger irregular shaped particles.  It's possible that many decades/centuries ago, there was a surface streambed there where your underground waterway is now and it's ancient streambed  would be less tightly packed than the surrounding soil.

Drought, can also cause what you are seeing. We've all seen cracks in the ground during drought. In 2011's drought, on a whim, I attempted to fill one of those cracks in my yard using a garden hose. After 3 hours, with the valve wide open, it still was not full...I couldn't even see water down in the crack. Those cracks extend down for several to many feet and I have little doubt they extend a long ways horizontally as well. When rains come, the flow can open the cracks up even wider under the surface as water flows horizontally thru the cracks and a subsurface channel of flow begins if the strata is sloped. Usually, when rains come, the soil expands and the cracks close up, but not always if they extend deep down.


----------



## Latestarter

That does look quite questionable. I know that northern AR has a very large karst region:




Not sure if you are located within the boundaries or not and also not sure the boundaries are 100% accurate. As you probably know, karts is subterranean limestone that can be "washed away" causing cavities which cause sink holes. It appears to me, much like GB outlines above, that there is a natural depression that has been caused over time leading from the existing hole toward the creek drainage:



IMHO, you either have a natural spring (source of water) or just natural drainage from "uphill/upstream" occurring that has over time worn enough top soil away in that spot for it to cave in. Might be the perfect area to excavate and build another "spring fed" pond   Regardless, I'd be real careful driving my tractor across that swale downstream from that hole...


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## greybeard

Give this a try. 
NRCS Arkansas.
Preventing and controlling erosion is one of their primary mandates and objectives. 

HARRISON SERVICE CENTER 
402 N WALNUT ST STE 127 
HARRISON, AR 72601-3621 




(870) 741-8600 ext 3
(855) 652-2085 fax





 Site: 1596 
 Office: 60224
Mailing Address:
402 N WALNUT ST STE 125
HARRISON, AR 72601
Contact:   Richard Adams
District Conservationist
Phone:   (870) 741-8600 x 3
Fax:   (855) 652-2085
Email:   Rick.Adams@ar.usda.gov

If no joy there, go up the ladder:
*Contact Arkansas NRCS*
State Office Address and Telephone Number:

USDA, NRCS
Room 3416
Federal Building
700 W. Capitol Ave.
Little Rock, AR 72201

Phone: (501) 301-3100
Fax: (855) 681-7041

Mike Sullivan, State Conservationist


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## greybeard

Using the full aerial photo you previously posted of your place, open it in an image editor (MS Paint will work fine) and draw an X for each of the holes and draw an intersecting line indicating where  you think the underground 'tunnel' between the holes is.
Something besides graboids comes to mind...........


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks to all for your input.  I will contact the Arkansas NRCS office (the quail biologist is associated with that office) and see what they have to say.  To help clarify what I was trying to say in my previous post.  Here is a picture from Google Earth Pro with a circle indicating where the hole is now.  The white line headed northeast is where the water flows from the hole underground until it resurfaces just inside the woods.  The white line headed southwest is where water is running underground (the length of the line is unknown) from the pasture and becomes visible in the hole.  I suspect that the water has been running underground for quite some time and the hole eventually opened up due to erosion underneath the ground to where the soil finally caved in.

 

Regarding soil geology, we have sandstone here more so than limestone, although I suppose that limestone could be present.  I certainly haven't seen any.

Before I talk to the NRCS folks, do you think it would make sense to try to trace the source of the flow of the water from the pasture, or am I chasing a wild goose?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Thanks to all for your input.  I will contact the Arkansas NRCS office (the quail biologist is associated with that office) and see what they have to say.  To help clarify what I was trying to say in my previous post.  Here is a picture from Google Earth Pro with a circle indicating where the hole is now.  The white line headed northeast is where the water flows from the hole underground until it resurfaces just inside the woods.  The white line headed southwest is where water is running underground (the length of the line is unknown) from the pasture and becomes visible in the hole.  I suspect that the water has been running underground for quite some time and the hole eventually opened up due to erosion underneath the ground to where the soil finally caved in.
> View attachment 54114
> Senile Texas Aggie


The hole is what I would call a sand boil.........maybe...depends on some more answers...

The plot thickens.......A sunny day near a town that knows how to keep its secrets but on the 2nd floor of a rural home, one man is still trying to find the answers to life's persistent questions...

Assuming I have the compass points correct, and the flow indicated by black arrows equally correct, if you walk due south from the circle, following the Yellow arrow, how many feet (approx) will you walk before you get your own feet wet?
10 ft?
50 ft?
136.6 ft?


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

greybeard said:


> if you walk due south from the circle, following the Yellow arrow, how many feet (approx) will you walk before you get your own feet wet?



If I am understanding your question, Mr. @greybeard, sir, maybe this larger picture will answer your question,  The white square is the approximate location of the previous picture:

 

Right now, with the pasture really wet, you would not have to walk any distance to get your feet wet.  Let the pastures dry out a couple of weeks, and then you won't get your feet wet until you step into the edge of the pond.  In case it helps, the general slope of the northern 2/3 of the pasture, which includes the picture above, is east northeast, as indicated by the white arrow.  So the water going into the hole from underground, and through the hole and back underground, is flowing in that general direction.

By the way, the allusion to "A Prairie Home Companion" made me smile.  Thanks for the memories.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> By the way, the allusion to "A Prairie Home Companion" made me smile.


Me too. Good old Guy Noir!

Don't like the replacement host nor his music. "Live From Here" just doesn't cut it for me, haven't listened since about the 1st month though it occasionally comes on when I'm listening to the radio on my computer. Like the local "Friday Night Jazz", it gets turned off or switched to the BBC.


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## greybeard

Is this an accurate facsimile of 'the bigger picture' with the previous pic as an inset?


 

I have to go take some photos to make some comparisons......
I think maybe somethings afoot........or has been in the past...


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## greybeard

Bruce said:


> *Me too*.


An ironic choice of words, 'all things...... considered'.


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## Bruce

I see what you mean! 
OK then, it made me smile as well.

Something afoot?? Like that is where the gangsters buried the bodies?


----------



## Baymule

Maybe Jimmy Hoffa's grave just caved in.


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## Bruce

No wonder they never found him!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @greybeard, sir!

The two pictures are from different magnifications of the same area using Google Earth Pro.  The date of the picture is Oct 2015.  To look for yourself, enter 6872 S State Hwy 217, Booneville, AR 72927.  As to whether the hole is Jimmy Hoffa's grave, it could be.  Maybe a bear dug up his corpse and left the big hole there!

I think the tree that I didn't know what it was turns out to be an American Sycamore.  I was unable to get a closeup of the leaves, as the lowest limbs on the trees appeared to be about 30 feet up.  But I did take a closeup of the bark at ground level.  Unfortunately, for some reason, I am unable to upload the closeup.  (Danged slow cellphone Internet...)

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Mr. @greybeard, sir!
> 
> The two pictures are from different magnifications of the same area using Google Earth Pro.  The date of the picture is Oct 2015.  To look for yourself, enter 6872 S State Hwy 217, Booneville, AR 72927.


I did that already.
The big pic I posted with the inset off to the left was one I got off  Google Earth.
(Remember the private message I sent you back at the end of August telling you exactly how far in ft a crow had to fly from your house to church? )
The reason I had originally asked for a larger picture, then when you posted a little one, I asked how far from the hole you could go southward without getting wet, was I wanted to know how far the pond was from the hole, as I already knew it was in the general area.

I have encountered the same type soil subsidence here on my place, in 2 different locations and at 2 different times, and both, were caused by burrowing animals and both were located near ponds.

I actually drove a tractor's front tires off into one in 2005 when the overburden of an underground tunnel gave way and it was about 4' deep and 3' wide.  The network on that one was substantial and extended out from the pond's edge about 100' as far as I could tell when I got thru collapsing it all with the backhoe.

Culprit?
Beaver.

I didn't think about it when you first asked about the water disappearing down a hole, as I thought you meant out in the middle of the big pasture, but then I remembered you had a pond in  part of the NE pasture.

More, after I look for an old Terraserver aerial photo. (Terraserver predates GoogleEarth about 10 years.)


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I was unable to get a closeup of the leaves, as the lowest limbs on the trees appeared to be about 30 feet up


And for us you wouldn't put on your tree climbing spikes and get closer to the leaves??

Maybe you need a new camera with a decent zoom. 30' isn't all that far.


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## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Unfortunately, for some reason, I am unable to upload the closeup.  (Danged slow cellphone Internet...)
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie



I used my cellphone when we moved here. I didn't have much of a smart phone, it was kinda stupid. I finally got satellite internet with Hughes Net and have been happy with it. So, get with the program and upgrade! LOL Then as the storm approaches, your satellite can blank out and you get nothing!


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## greybeard

We're supposed to be getting a new (closer) cell tower, but they already told us (my area) that unless the Nat Forest happens to burn down, we won't see much difference, if any at all.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Yesterday, we decided it was too wet to continue to work down near the creek, so we decided to work along the edge of the woods just south of the shop.  Dummy me forgot to get "before" pictures prior to starting.  We worked in cutting down a lot of bushes and short trees, along with all kinds of vines and briars.  We got a lot of rain last night, meaning that it would be too wet to use the tractor and grapple, so we decided to focus on cutting down the bushes and small trees and lower limbs of big trees.  We are working our way from the corner of the woods just behind the shop east.  We are close to getting to where the lane cuts through the woods to go from the east pasture to the northern skinny pasture.  I will try to remember to get "after" pictures when we finish.


 

One pleasant discovery was of a small waterfall in a wet weather creek than runs along the edge of the woods.  Hearing that sound was a really nice surprise.  In case you don't know, I love waterfalls.  When we lived in Georgia, I dragged my Beautiful Gal all over the eastern part of the US to see the different waterfalls there.  Now we get to hear our own, at least right after a rain! 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## frustratedearthmother

That's really cool having your very own waterfall!!


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## Rammy

I like waterfalls, too.


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## Baymule

I bet that is pretty to look at as it is to hear the tinkle of the water playing songs of the rain.


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## Rammy

Ooooh, just had a thought....put a picnic table or some chairs out there like a little park setting. Then you can sit there and listen while you eat your dinner or something. Maybe even cookout. That would be cool.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

With the rain that came through this morning, we decided not to work outside.  Instead, I tackled the fireplace insert.  The pilot light will sometimes stay lit, and the fireplace works great, and sometimes will not stay lit.  It's not lack of gas, so I figured that the thermocouple was going bad.  After much weeping and gnashing of teeth, I finally removed the old thermocouple and replaced it with a new one.  But again the pilot light won't stay lit.  Since the thermocouple provides power (albeit very low voltage), do you think it may be the solenoid that is failing?  Is there an amplifier for the solenoid, as I doubt the thermocouple would provide enough current to directly drive the solenoid?  Any ideas?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Rammy

I read on Bruce's journal you mentioned having alot of wood but nowhere to burn it. Is there anywhere  you can install a wood burning stove in your house? 
I have a freind who installed a small wood stove in his gas fireplace. He had the gas disconnected and ran the pipe up thru the chimney(sp).
Hopefully you will get it fixed but also get a wood stove too.


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> We are close to getting to where the lane cuts through the woods to go from the east pasture to the northern skinny pasture. I will try to remember to get "after" pictures when we finish.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> One pleasant discovery was of a small waterfall in a wet weather creek than runs along the edge of the woods. Hearing that sound was a really nice surprise. In case you don't know, I love waterfalls. When we lived in Georgia, I dragged my Beautiful Gal all over the eastern part of the US to see the different waterfalls there. Now we get to hear our own, at least right after a rain!



When I look at any aerial photo, I always wonder why a skinny strip of trees or woods is present between open areas and just assume there is a creek or fence (or both) in there.  
Trickling water down a slope is always interesting, sometimes mesmerizing. 

I had some kind of waterfall or water uplift in the middle of a pasture during the flood, and I'm not sure to this day, exactly what it was. Couldn't get over to it, but it was quite noisy. 
I had so much going on that morning, I really couldn't spend much time wondering about it.
Whatever it was, it was not there the evening before as the water was coming up, even tho water already covered the area of this anomaly. 

The area just above where the light above the white door is--in the background among the nearest trees.



 
The next morning, of course the water covered everywhere and was really flowing hard & fast, left to right across the picture.


 



 

I've never been able to determine what could have caused it, but I don't want to hear it again.


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## Baymule

No experience with a gas fireplace. If I were lucky enough to have a fireplace, I would be burning wood.


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## farmerjan

STA;  if you are not too keen on the mess that having an inside wood burning stove or fireplace creates:  and yes it gets a bit messy with wood chips and some soot and such that can come out the door when you open it to add wood etc.;  then what about considering a wood burning furnace outside that will heat your whole house and will heat your hot water?  They are more expensive to install, and you have to have either  a hot water/baseboard system ... or they can be used with a hot air type system (air ducts etc.) There is a good way to utilize the wood and give yourself "free hot water" in the  process.  Plus it keeps the mess outside.  And due to the "fire " being outside, is alot easier on the house/homeowners insurance costs.  I love having a wood burning stove inside so that you can also cook on it, but would probably have one of these wood furnaces  for the general heat producing capabilities, especially the hot water.   I have a wood cookstove that I would really like to have in my "last home" so I can cook on it again, but not have to depend on keeping a couple of wood stoves burning to keep the house warm.  That is where an outside wood furnace would be nice.


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## Wehner Homestead

Personally, if I wasn’t going to change the way I heat my home, I’d do a fire pit or outdoor fireplace to enjoy. I love sitting by a fire and will even bundle up quite a bit to do so!!


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## Wehner Homestead

Screenshot directly from google...


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## greybeard

farmerjan said:


> I have a wood cookstove that I would really like to have in my "last home" so I can cook on it again, but not have to depend on keeping a couple of wood stoves burning to keep the house warm. That is where an outside wood furnace would be nice.


Those combination 'cookstoves/woodstoves' (we call them boxstoves here) are horribly inefficient.
I had one in this tiny house and we about froze...in E. Texas.
(I obviously had already removed the heater/stove when this pic was taken)


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

greybeard said:


> I've never been able to determine what could have caused it, but I don't want to hear it again.



Mr. @greybeard, sir!  I remember reading about the tribulations you went through during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.  Wow!  I can't blame you to not want to hear that again!



farmerjan said:


> then what about considering a wood burning furnace outside that will heat your whole house and will heat your hot water?





Wehner Homestead said:


> I’d do a fire pit or outdoor fireplace to enjoy. I love sitting by a fire and will even bundle up quite a bit to do so!!





greybeard said:


> Those combination 'cookstoves/woodstoves' (we call them boxstoves here) are horribly inefficient.



When we lived in Georgia (Warner Robins), we had a really nice fireplace in the great room.  It was really nice.  After a few years living there, we installed a wood burning fireplace insert.  Wow!  That stove really put out the heat.  But I was disappointed that we didn't save any money, as we had to buy our wood (living on a 1/4 acre lot does not provide a lot of trees to cut down)!  When we moved to McKinney, the house we bought had a gas fireplace insert which could not accommodate a wood burning stove.  When we started looking for a retirement home, most of the places we looked at had either a fireplace or a wood burning stove.  But the place we bought has a gas fireplace insert, and the hearth and chimney are not designed to burn wood.  We priced having the fireplace and chimney redone to accommodate real wood, but it was going to be VERY expensive.  So we do without.  We will think about getting a fireplace one day, probably a little outside fire pit or chiminea (sp?) to enjoy.  I ordered a replacement valve assembly for the insert.  I hope it fixes the problem.


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## greybeard

Wehner Homestead said:


> Screenshot directly from google...
> View attachment 54278



If I were going to go to that much expense, it would have to do something besides look pretty and put off a little heat.
One could probably build a decent outdoor kitchen for what that much masonry work cost.
I and a couple others here at BYH have been following this one on a different cattle board.

https://cattletoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=115115


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## Wehner Homestead

Interesting @greybeard!! That was just on a quick search. I’d love to have a fully functional outdoor kitchen! Your probably find me out there cooking in some insane weather!  

I’ll add that mine would be preferably next to an inground heated pool with a spillover spa and a poolhouse with a dressing room, bathroom, game room, laundry room, storage, loft for the heck of it, maintenance room for all of the pumps/heaters/etc, and another kitchen there too. Why the heck not?! A girl can dream big. Lol


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## greybeard

Wehner Homestead said:


> A girl can dream _expensive_. Lol


Don't I know it!!


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## animalmom

@Wehner Homestead, go big or go home!  But, you forgot the Cabana Boy(s).


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## Wehner Homestead

animalmom said:


> @Wehner Homestead, go big or go home!  But, you forgot the Cabana Boy(s).




Didn’t even cross my mind...I think I’ll just give that job to DH though and teach one of the Aussies to get drinks out of the fridge!


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## Bruce

Fireplaces are notoriously inefficient. Most of the heat goes up the chimney. Inserts with blower fans do help with that though. And yes chimneys are expensive though if you have the stove on an outside wall you can go through the wall with a thimble and use triple wall pipe on the outside. Not too bad on a 1 story house. But remember that the top of the chimney has to be 2' higher than anything within 10 feet of it.


----------



## Latestarter

There are wood stove designs that combine the best of all three... glass doors on the front to replicate a fireplace where you can watch the flames, Flat expanded heating surfaces on top that can be used for cooking on if you wish, and much better fuel efficiency than a fire place or the old wood stoves. There are also wood stove catalytic converters so you can run the exhaust pipe inside the home with it installed prior to routing it through the wall to an outdoor chimney.
https://www.northlineexpress.com/7-...MInozz-ezA3gIVj-NkCh1ARwK3EAYYAiABEgLjKfD_BwE


----------



## Bruce

The glass doors get dirty, can't clean them until the stove cools off a lot. 
Yes you can cook on the top but you gotta get the stove cranking, especially if there is an air space between the firebox and the top like mine. But you can use it to help humidify the house by putting a pot of water on the "cooking surface".
The catalytic converter isn't there to produce more heat or reduce heat up the chimney but to cut the emissions. And they have to get to a pretty hot temp before they work so as the stove cools down over night they aren't as effective. A lot of newer stoves are designed such that the CC is not necessary. 



But none of that stops be from having a woodstove with a glass door, no CC though.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Yesterday I tried posting to the forum, but the internet was so slow that I finally gave up.  Maybe it will be faster today.

Yesterday afternoon, after I finished looking for parts for the gas fireplace insert, my Beautiful Gal and I decided to take a break from cutting brush and trees and visit different parts of our property, most of which we had not seen before.  Here is a map of the places we visited:


We started at location A, which is where the little waterfall was located (no pictures).  Water was no longer falling, but merely trickling.  I guess that is no surprise considering that the watershed for the little stream is no more than an acre or so.

Then we went to location B (again no pictures).  I wanted to see what kind of boundary markers the surveyors left.  The only boundary marker we could find were a couple of orange ribbons tied to a tree.  I thought that surveyors would mark corners like that with something more permanent.

Then we went into the woods from the southern end to look at the creek (location C).  Here is what we saw (looking northwest):


The creek bank on the south side where we were was quite steep, so we went around to the other side of the creek to see what it looked like (location D), and here is what we saw (looking east):

We were a bit surprised that the creek had eroded the bank that deeply.  I don't know if you can make it out or not, but there is solid rock starting about 6 feet or so from the top of the bank down to the creek bed.

Then we went to location D, which is where the creek flows into the property owned by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission:
 

Finally, location E, the most beautiful part of our property, thanks to the owners who built this house :


Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Mike CHS

Having had to haul off about 10 times that trash pile I really feel your pain.


----------



## greybeard

Permanent survey markers are generally only installed at property line corners, tho the surveyors may leave some temporary markers as waypoints in the middle of a long run. Here, the surveyors install wooden laths with orange ribbon as a way point, and another at each corner, but also drive a metal rod with orange or white top down to ground level or just below ground level at property line corners. They look like a giant nail, several feet long with a flat top....may or may not have writing on the 'nailhead'. 
If you find one of the markers, leave it alone, but it is fine to drive your own (more visible) marker down right behind it. I usually use a length of 2" X 2' long angle iron, as it kind of encapsulates the surveyor's official rod while still allowing them to find it.... as well as me being able to find it easily without a metal detector.


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## Bruce

How nice that you found their trash pile. Amazing array of "stuff" there. I hope they at least had only the one. But all that stuff looks pretty "fresh", they probably dumped it as they were cleaning up to move out. Sadly, there are probably other garbage dumps elsewhere on the property from other prior owners


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## greybeard

I've seen and disposed of lots lots lots worse and lots lots *lots* more..


----------



## Rammy

Im sure there are markers in the ground. Normally, when they survey here, they also put tape around the ground marker for easier identification. If you ask, sometimes they will put T-posts in also if you request it, at an additional fee. Or you can do it yourself. Do it like GB showed, with the ground marker tucked into the "groove" of the t-post. If you want, you can also get some tape, or take the hanging tape, and put around the top so you can see it from a distance. Do NOT touch the ground markers the surveyors put in. That will getcha in trouble.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Thought I would share a picture of a small deer that strolled across our east lawn while my Beautiful Gal and I were enjoying the dawn.


----------



## Baymule

Don't it make you wonder why you didn't retire FIRST?  Beautiful view.


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## Bruce

Hard to do unless you inherit several million at birth Bay!


----------



## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> One pleasant discovery was of a small waterfall in a wet weather creek than runs along the edge of the woods. Hearing that sound was a really nice surprise. In case you don't know, I love waterfalls.



Love it!!! What a pleasant surprise for you!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Have you ever heard the expression "He could tear up an anvil"?  Well, I feel that saying applies to me.  I was out mowing the overgrown pastures near the south pond this morning, as my wife did not want to work in the woods today because it was so cold.  With the freeze, the grass was much easier to cut than back in the spring when I first got the mower and tractor.  I was already imagining just how nice the field was going to look.  I planned on posting pictures of the field in hopes of impressing you folks, especially Miss @farmerjan. 

Well, I was about 1/4 done when I mowed between 2 pines and then heard an awful racket coming from the mower.  I raised the 3 pt hitch, thinking that I was hitting a stump or rock.  The sound didn't stop.  So I immediately stopped the PTO and headed back to the shop, placed some jack stands under the mower, got on my mechanics creeper, and this is what I saw:
 

I apologize for the dim light.  The part on the left hanging down is supposed to be completely horizontal, like the one on the right.  Somehow I had bent that part, which is fastened with two bolts having 15/16" heads to the mower deck.  The steel appears to be 1/4" thick.  It is incredibly hard.  But somehow I had managed to bend it down, and then bent the right edge of it inward to where it contacted the blades.  I tried loosening the two bolts, but using the longest breakover bar I had I could not loosen either bolt.

So you tool experts (especially Mr. @greybeard), would a torque multiplier wrench be strong enough to loosen the bolts?  Tractor Mike had a video where he tried to loosen the bolts holding the blades on a mower and broke the wrench (he ordered it from Amazon), so I fear that is what would happen to me.

So, I have torn up an anvil in the form of a Rhino mower.  (Sorry, Miss @farmerjan, I will have to try to impress you some other time.  Today I hopefully provided comic relief! )

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Mike CHS

I doubt anyone considers that comic relief but I'm sure many can relate. Any idea what you hit?

I found a piece (one of many) of rebar when it came flying out from under the mower deck.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mike CHS said:


> Any idea what you hit?



Not a clue.  I looked back where I mowed and didn't see a rock or a stump.  I suspect that the metal had started bending down as I had used it the past few weeks.  I have been mowing down saplings and may have started the bending at that time.  Any suggestions on how to get the bolts off, other than with a grinder perhaps?


----------



## Bruce

Have you started with FluidFilm or PB Blaster? Could be some rust in there. And, IIRC, Tractor Mike's repair guy broke out the impact wrench after the multiplier broke. I'm afraid I know nothing about rotary cutters other than what I have seen online. I hope there wasn't too much damage.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

The blades on the mower seemed to suffer no ill effects.  It's just with that edge now bent down, until I remove it I can no longer use the mower.  <sigh>


----------



## greybeard

Once you remove the blades, I would like to see a photo of both blades laid out in good light, and the name brand, model  and size of the mower.

I had a blade break like this once, 


 

and I once lost the entire lower rotating assembly but I have never bent a blade down or up and I have hit stumps, cut 3" ironwood, tires, chain, t posts, cement blocks and all manner of steel junk. 
You sure are hard on equipment


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

greybeard said:


> You sure are hard on equipment



Boy, Mr @greybeard, sir, you sure know how to a fella -- just tell the truth about him! 

Actually, I don't plan to remove the blades.  They looked fine, other than a nick on the end of one of the blades.  What is shown in the picture is the left side of the rock guards at the front of the mower.  Somehow it got bent down, and then once bent down, the right hand side of the guard must have caught something (stump, rock ?) that bent it back into the path of the blade.

Do you know if torque multiplier wrenches are worth a crap?  I know some are not but are there any good ones?  I am unable to loosen either bolt holding the guard to the front edge of the mower.  I may consider getting a grinder and grind the bolts out, but that seems a bit drastic.

Senile Texas Aggie

ETA: The name of the mower is Rhino and it is a 6 ft mower.


----------



## Baymule

Don't feel bad, we have all done a number on our equipment at one time or another. When we first bought this place, there was 5-6' high weeds. Son-in-law walked ahead of me while I bush hogged. He spotted the places for me to go around, but missed a bedspring unit in the tall weeds. I hit it, shut the bush hog down. He was able to extricate the bedspring and we went on. No damage, but I made up for that later. LOL Wound up finding FIVE bedspring units on this place.


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Boy, Mr @greybeard, sir, you sure know how to a fella -- just tell the truth about him!
> 
> Actually, I don't plan to remove the blades.  They looked fine, other than a nick on the end of one of the blades.  What is shown in the picture is the left side of the rock guards at the front of the mower.  Somehow it got bent down, and then once bent down, the right hand side of the guard must have caught something (stump, rock ?) that bent it back into the path of the blade.
> 
> Do you know if torque multiplier wrenches are worth a crap?  I know some are not but are there any good ones?  I am unable to loosen either bolt holding the guard to the front edge of the mower.  I may consider getting a grinder and grind the bolts out, but that seems a bit drastic.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie
> 
> ETA: The name of the mower is Rhino and it is a 6 ft mower.


200-400-GR-10-20-0r 30 series?
200 will handle 21/2" saplings
400 and GR are good up to 4 1/2" diameter stuff.
(200/400/GR will all have 2 wheels on the back...the  mowers below will have only one tail wheel)
10 is good for 1" stuff.
20=2"
30=3" diameter targets.
Rhino used to make a very high quality and rugged machine. I have an older one..been bulletproof. I can't say the same for my Modern brand mower or my old Howes that desperately needs a new deck welded on it.

I have not used a torque multiplier in many years, but yes, they work. They were quite expensive in those days due to the accuracy needed for the application we used them on. They really shouldn't be used to remove nuts..breakout torques can exceed the value you have the wrench set at very easily.  If you are going to spend $$ to get fasteners loose, I recommend getting a good quality air wrench...you will get a lot more use out of it on down the road for years to come. Otherwise, grind the nuts off if all you are doing is removing a guard.
(I'd probably just use my smoke wrench. (oxy/acet torch) But then too, I might choose to just flip the mower upside down with the front loader and beat the bent up guards back in position with a BFH. (don't do this with the mower suspended by a chain from the loader bucket.it's just not safe)

I'm pretty hard on equipment myself. The job comes first. I can always fix or replace the carnage later.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

greybeard said:


> If you are going to spend $$ to get fasteners loose, I recommend getting a good quality air wrench...you will get a lot more use out of it on down the road for years to come



Mr. @greybeard, sir, I have considered getting an air compressor and air impact wrenches.  The shop was built with compressed air lines around 2 sides of the shop, and had an air compressor at one time.  What has made me hesitate is the cost -- a large tank air compressor at Tractor Supply was > $1,000.  Ouch!  Would a little pancake air compressor do the job as well, or is that something that I would be unhappy with.  And is having compressed air equipment be one of those things that, once I have them I can't imagine doing without?  Anyone else have an opinion, feel free to comment as well.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

I used my big (40 gal I think) compressor so seldom that I traded it off for a gas powered welder and use a 20 gal compressor for big jobs but most of the time, my 5 or 6 gal Porter Cable pancake does what I need. It has it's limitations when using a framing gun in rapid fashion, but unless you are going to run a sand blaster, do a lot of painting, or run a 3/4 drive air wrench, a pancake is adequate. Just get a good one, not the cheapest.

 Look at good air wrenches, read what their supply requirements are and size your compressor to that. (I said 'good'...not 'best'...there's a huge price difference between 'adequate' impact wrenches and the top of the line professional units..almost double)
 I prefer ingersol rand, but also have a MAC which I bought used and cheap off a MAC tool truck when I was still working. I think I paid just over $120 for it some years ago, which is about what a new ingersol will run nowadays.  The top of the line wrenches will run $300-maybe even $400 and will need a bigger compressor as well.

Another option.. 
They do have some very good electric impact wrenches nowadays at a bit more cost than equivalent air wrenches,  but you can't air up a tractor tire with an electric wrench.....I have air wrenches and air ratchets......they come in awful handy. The electric impacts I have used were corded. I don't have any personal experience with the cordless ones. 
Lots of things I can do without but an air compressor isn't one of them. Neither is a good battery charger.


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## Bruce

I agree with @greybeard on the compressor size. I bought my impact wrench (and a real torque wrench) to swap tires on the cars now that there are 4 of them. That is just a lot of bolts to crank off as I get older. And of course there is always 1 or more per car that REALLY don't want to come off with the 1/2" drive socket wrench. I have a small (3 gallon??) compressor. Plenty for short interval use like bolt removal or airing up tires. No I wouldn't wan't to try to use it for sandblasting or "rapid" power nailing.   

Now that I have the tractor, I stick a pallet on the forks, load the "change over" tires, the compressor, the jack and the "bolt tools" and drive the whole mess the ~100' over to the cars. Way easier than carrying each item one at a time.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, Mr. @greybeard and Mr. @Bruce.  I think I will start looking for some air tools and compressors soon.


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## Latestarter

Pick the tools you want to use first, so you're sure to get a compressor that will deliver the air necessary to use them properly...


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## Mike CHS

I rarely mention Harbor Freight and decent tools in the same sentence but this is one of those times.  I have two good name brand pancake compressors that fills most of our needs but I do a lot of spraying where I need a bigger compressor.  I have a 20 gallon that goes on sale regularly at Harbor Freight and this one has lasted a little over 15 years with a fairly good amount of use.  Get on their email list so you can get their ads for them and often at half price.  Plus their emails often has coupons for another 25% off.


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## Bruce

But check the TractorByNet forum threads "Harbor Freight tools that suck" and "Harbor Freight tools that don't suck". Could be the item Mike bought 15 years ago has been replaced a time or 10 with something not nearly so high quality. Or maybe it is still a good product at a good price.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks everyone for your recommendations.  I will definitely keep these things in mind.

Now another question for you tractor owners.  Yesterday I decided to take the mower to a farm equipment repair shop, as they gave a reasonable estimate for repairing it.  But it took me 45 minutes to get the mower off the 3 point hitch, the longest it has ever taken me.  Part of the problem was that I had temporarily used a bolt instead of a pin to hold the right antisway bar in position.  I will replace that with the correct size pin soon.  But one thing that occurred to me is that maybe it's time to get a quick hitch or maybe even Pat's Easy Change hitch.  What do you folks know about such hitches?  Do they really make life easier?  When I saw a video of John Deere's version on a video about using a box blade and I remembered seeing the videos that Tractor Mike put out that talked about these hitches.  So what are your opinions about them?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

My b-i-l has some version of quick hitch on his Kubota and has had for about 4 years...maybe more. He fights with it every time he has to change implements and usually calls me. 
I do not personally use them and have never really  seen the need for them.

Having said that, the old Case had a type of quick hitch made onto their lift arms from the factory that worked pretty good, tho the implement needed to be on level ground and you did have to be able to back up straight to it for it to function properly.  You still had to get off the tractor to flip the locks in place, or to open them when you were ready to drop that implement for another one.


----------



## Bruce

I'm newer to tractors that you are but I've seen quick hitch videos on Tractor Mike and Tractor Time with Tim. Sure make it look a lot easier than connecting directly to the 3 PT. But as they have noted, not all implements are quick hitch compatible so you need to figure out if your mower is or is not. And some things like post hole diggers can't be put on a 3 PT. I do recall TM saying extendable arms on the 3 PT make it much easier to hook up since you don't have to have the pins in exactly the right place.


----------



## Mike CHS

I have the Pat's and it works on the few implements that I have. But all I have is the bush hog, landscape rake, box blade and post hole digger but I don't know if it's all that much of an aid since I put the quick hitch on before ever using any of the implements.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Currently I have only the mower, the boxblade, and a seed spreader (which I have yet to use).  But I was really frustrated getting the mower off of the 3 pt that I thought would be a lot easier with a quick hitch or easy change.  I do have the extendible arms on the 3 pt and it does help somewhat when connecting.


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## Bruce

Do you have a nice flat place to store and connect/disconnect your implements? If so, I would think the QH would be pretty easy to use since you could set up specific storage areas and "stop" blocks for the tractor. That way you could just back up to the one you want and raise the QH under the pins. 

I do not have such a space, haven't gotten a quick hitch. Of course I've not taken off the hoe and used the rake yet. That will wait for spring now.


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## Baymule

I have one on my Kubota and I adore it. It is so easy and quick, even I can change out implements. LOL I just had to rig up the attachments with pins and now they are so easy to put on/off Marigold. I have a brush hog, box blade and disc.


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## greybeard

I grew up on tractors..it's where I learned to drive....and have just never had the need for a quick hitch. 
The rigid anti-sway bars on the old 8N Fords was a bit aggravating sometime, because you had to tie the anti-sway bars up in order to back up, but we all  found it manageable. 
When I moved  each of brother's implements off his property last Spring and to a location they could easily be viewed, it didn't take much trouble or time and he had 2 straight blades, a box blade, 2 bush hogs, a set of tandem discs and a wore out PHD. (I did not bother hooking up the pto shafts since I was just moving them and not operating anything.)
It takes about 10 minutes to fully hook up to my 6' mower, a couple minutes lnger for the seed conical spreader because it sits so close to the tractor and is so low to the ground, but it's light enough to swivel into place.
Just depends what one is used to I suppose.




Bruce said:


> And some things like post hole diggers can't be put on a 3 PT.


How else would you power it?
Mine goes on my 3pt.......you just pin the boom directly to where the center link usually goes on the tractor.  It's still regarded as a 3 point implement.


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## Bruce

OOPS! Mistyped. Can't put the PHD on the quick hitch.


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## Mike CHS

Bruce said:


> OOPS! Mistyped. Can't put the PHD on the quick hitch.



I'm not sure what you're saying.  I use mine with the quick hitch and the top link like greybeard said.


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## Wehner Homestead

Y’all lose me when you talk tractors. We have them. I drive one once a year in hay when we bale squares usually. Maybe when the kids are older, I’ll get to do more...


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## greybeard

Mike CHS said:


> I'm not sure what you're saying.  I use mine with the quick hitch and the top link like greybeard said.


Some full quick hitches don't work with a standard yoke & boom 3 pt phd. The QH needs the tractor's top link bracket to hold itself to the tractor. Particularly true of tractors with a little age on them.
They do make a phd specifically for those type quick hitches, but they are several hundred $$ more than a standard yoke & boom phd and they will only work on that type qh.

The QHs that are just 2 bolt on/pin on brackets for each of the lift arms will allow you to use a 3 pt PHD.


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## Mike CHS

That explains it.  I wasn't seeing what was being described.


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## greybeard

A friend of mine has a version of the full QH on his 5045 John Deere. It's a pita to change from his mower to his box blade, as the top  hook position has to be changed up or down on the QH, which involves getting out wrenches and removing two 3/4" bolt and nuts to raise the hook for the mower or lower it for the box blade and if you lengthen out the top link on the qh to get the mower to sit as it should, the top pin will slip out of the hook if you aren't careful. That makes moot the whole premise of a quick hitch, and of course, he also has a PHD, & he has to remove the whole QH to use the phd. He usually just opts to call me to bring my tractor and PHD, which is how I ended up twisting it's drive shaft off last month.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Do you have a nice flat place to store and connect/disconnect your implements?



Yes, at least reasonably flat outside the shop (and perfectly flat inside it .



greybeard said:


> I grew up on tractors..it's where I learned to drive.





Wehner Homestead said:


> Y’all lose me when you talk tractors.



Miss @Wehner Homestead, I am with you regarding tractors and equipment.  But I am learning to use them (and regrettably how to tear them up)!



greybeard said:


> which is how I ended up twisting it's drive shaft off last month.



Sorry to hear about that, Mr. @greybeard, sir!  What happened?  Just asking, in case I ever get a PHD.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

hit a root from a nearby oak tree and it had been so long since I had  sheared a pin or removed the drive shaft from the phd gear box, the shear pin couldn't shear--drive shaft's u-joint hub was rusted to the input shaft of the gearbox. Shaft torqued up and twisted in half about a foot & 1/2 from the tractor's pto shaft.


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## Ridgetop

Wow!!!


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## Bruce

greybeard said:


> The QHs that are just 2 bolt on/pin on brackets for each of the lift arms will allow you to use a 3 pt PHD.


True. I don't know how many variations there are but "_*Pat's Easy Change 3 Point Hitch System" *_is one of them and is probably the better choice if someone has a lot of non quick hitch compatible implements.
http://www.pats3pointhitchsystem.com/page/7229


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## Wehner Homestead

@Senile_Texas_Aggie I have been around tractors and lawnmowers my entire life and even learned to drive on a stick shift truck in the pasture. I have a brother about 3 years younger and he always got to run machinery of any kind. I got to push mow or fork pens while he rode the riding lawnmower or the tractor with the spreader. DH wants me to be more proficient so I can now mow with a zero turn lawnmower, operate our Honda Foreman ATV, drive a stick shift in traffic, and drive the tractor while baking square bales and they are dropped on the hay wagon with a kid on my lap. Just need to work on backing trailers and other tractor functions! Lol


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## Bruce

Wehner Homestead said:


> I have a brother about 3 years younger and he always got to run machinery of any kind. I got to push mow or fork pens while he rode the riding lawnmower or the tractor with the spreader.


Screwed by the old gender bias thing eh? Well you learned, just had to wait for a man that figured a woman could do the same work. 

Baking square bales while driving a tractor? You GO girl!


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## Mike CHS

Wehner Homestead said:


> Just need to work on backing trailers and other tractor functions! Lol





That sounds like Teresa. She can literally do everything but doesn't like backing up our trailers, especially on some of our steep hills.


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## greybeard

Ridgetop said:


> Wow!!!


No big thing..It could have been lots worse.   
_no good deed goes unpunished_ 
I welded it back together.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @greybeard, sir,

While I have your attention, I seem to recall your saying about the need to do something with the PTO shaft for implements like mowers that sit idle for awhile.  Seems like it was lengthening the shafts or shortening them or rotating them or something.  Do you know what I am talking about?  If not, I will go back through your posts and find it.  If you do, would you tell me again what it was, and why I need to do that?

Ever in awe of how much you know... 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

Yes, occassionally, slide them out of their contracted positions, spray some lube on them if the metal tube is exposed.  If the plastic guard is such that you can't even see any of the metal tube, just slide/extend, then compress the drive line a few times to keep them freed up...being carefull NOT to pull the 2 halves apart (tho it isn't a big deal at all to then just squirt/spray some lube on them and slide them back together.)
Make sure you orient the 2 joints correctly to keep the phase correct.
(most 3 sided tubes will only go together one way--some square tubes will go together out of phase, some will only go one way because of a little spline on one of the flats.)

some reading on the subject:
http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14940

If you DON'T do it and the unit sits for several months with no lube between the 2 telescoping pieces, they will rust/stick together and you'll have hell getting your mower hooked up next time you need it.

I believe "tractor Mike' has a video on this as well and show what is inside that plastic shroud.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, everyone,

I have done a couple of things that each deserve a Mr. @greybeard Zinger(TM).  The first one happened yesterday.  I decided to hook up the boxblade and have a go at leveling the parking area from the mess I made a few weeks ago.  (Only now has it stopped raining long enough for the parking area to dry out.)  I got out the white lithium grease spray to spray the balls of the lower links of the 3 pt hitch, as well as the link pins on the box blade.  When I backed up to get the lower arms in position, I heard a "pop!" followed by a hissing sound.  "Oh, no, I've punctured a tractor tire!"  I got down from the tractor, and when I looked at the right rear tire, I saw what the cause of the sound was:  I had backed over the white lithium spray can enough to break the lid and the nozzle off, and the tire was depressing the valve enough to spray white lithium grease all over the rear tire.  Doh!

But the bigger dumb mistake happened today.  We had ordered a part for our fireplace insert, and it finally arrived yesterday.  I was attempting to level the parking area with the box blade when the FedEx driver pulled up.  I got off the tractor about the same time as my Beautiful Gal came to the door.  So I took the box from the FedEx driver and handed it to my BG, wherein she took the part into the house.  It was late in the day when I stopped working with the box blade, so I decided to install the part the next day.

After breakfast, I decided to get started.  I saw where my BG had already opened the box, which was empty.  I looked around for a moment before I saw the part underneath the stove, ready to be installed.  "Great!" so I dove right in.  As I was installing the part, I was so happy that everything was fitting perfectly, with no problems at all.  After about 30 minutes or so of work I was ready to turn the gas on and give it a try.  That's when I saw it: the new part was still wrapped in plastic sitting on the coffee table.  I had installed the old part!  Doh!  So, muttering to myself, I took off the old part and opened the package for the new one.  The new part had a different size opening for the gas inlet (3/8" vs 1/2" on the old one).  So off to the hardware store I went.  Then I was able to install the new part.  And I am happy to say that the fireplace insert is now working.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Latestarter

Don't you just love gaining experience in doing things... by doing them multiple times vice once? Glad the FP is working now. With the colder weather coming, I'm sure you'll both enjoy it.


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## Bruce

Hey, you are good at replacing that part now!

I get a Zinger™ as well. I had taken the mower off the Garden Tractor, put on the undercarriage pulley 'attachment'  and gotten out the pairs of 2 different size wrenches needed to put the weight bracket and weight on the back. But I hadn't installed them because I can't pull the splitter with them in the way. So the blower is in its summer storage location, near the far end of the drive bay, facing away from the door. Ready to attach to the GT. Took the new POS splitter back yesterday, needed the GT to retrieve it from the little barn. Drove the GT frontwards (rear to the door) into the drive bay for the night knowing it was going to snow overnight. I didn't get back from returning the splitter until after dark, wasn't thinking about the blower.

So today after it stopped snowing I went out and put the weight on the back and put the blower on. Now anyone who has moved snow with a blower on a GT or larger machine knows you want to have it facing out so you can blow yourself a path. I got the weight on then , there is no room in the drive bay to reverse the direction of the GT under power. At least I didn't put the blower on first. But I had to push and pull the GT to the side, drag the hefty blower to the door and reverse its direction, then push and pull the GT, which BARELY fits crossways in the bay with the other stuff in there, to get it turned around to face out. 
Would have been simple if I had put the blower on yesterday when there was no snow, I could have backed out of the barn, turned around and backed in, ready for the 8" of snow we got.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Would have been simple if I had put the blower on yesterday when there was no snow, I could have backed out of the barn, turned around and backed in, ready for the 8" of snow we got.


You couldn't just shovel enough snow out of the way to get out of the barn and oriented into the right direction for the blower to be facing correctly?   And, you do have a large tractor with a fel bucket now.........



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I had backed over the white lithium spray can enough to break the lid and the nozzle off, and the tire was depressing the valve enough to spray white lithium grease all over the rear tire. Doh!



My 'zinger' is this:
Get your wife's Dawn dish washing detergent bottle out, and a stiff brush and clean or  power wash all that grease off the rubber part of that wheel &tire. Leaving sprayed or liquid lubricant on a tire for a long period of time will turn the synthetic rubber soft and it will soon bulge out and split. I will try to get you a picture of a brand new rear tractor tire, which was never installed that the same thing happened to when some hydraulic oil was spilled on the shop floor and ran under the stored tire and we never realized the oil was under it. The sidewall just became soft and spongy and split open the first time we stood the tire up and rolled it.



> *Oil, Grease, and Gasoline*
> These items can deteriorate rubber when exposed to a tire for any length of time. Use a clean, damp cloth to remove these chemicals from the tire.


You can add just about any _petroleum_ based lubricant to that list....silicone lubricants are a little less likely to damage tires but they do have their own downsides.

(btw..I once backed over a full can of aerosol starting fluid (mostly ether) and immediately after the loud but short lived HISSSS sound, it ignited in a very loud POOF...that will get your attention quickly.)


----------



## RollingAcres

Well congrats to our Zinger award winners!


----------



## Bruce

greybeard said:


> You couldn't just shovel enough snow out of the way to get out of the barn and oriented into the right direction for the blower to be facing correctly? And, you do have a large tractor with a fel bucket now.........


Nope. That GT will not back up any sort of slope with the blower on, not even with chains and the 50 pound weight on the back. And it is downhill into the drive bay. When I blow down between the barns I have to make a cul-de-sac in the area behind the gate to turn around and go back up the slope.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Some of you may remember that I asked Miss @farmerjan to post pictures of her and her soon.  (If not, see https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...for-the-rest-of-you.38161/page-40#post-570791 .)  Well, she hasn't done so, claiming that she didn't have a smart phone or any other camera.  I figured she would not post pictures, so I decided to take a drive to that part of Virginia.  It took a little bit of doing, but I found someone who knew her and where she lived.  So here, for the benefit of you BYHers, are the pictures of Miss @farmerjan and her son:

 

While I was in that part of the country, I decided to pay a visit to Miss @Mini Horses, since she wasn't too far.  But I didn't know what county she was in nor even her first name, so it took me a while longer to find her.  But I finally did find someone who knew her and he told me where she lived.  When I arrived at her place, I heard commotion in the barn, so I thought she might be out there.  I found a knothole in the side of the barn, looked in and there she was.  Here is the picture I got:


So there!  Now everyone knows what those three folks look like.  

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Rammy

Do they know you were there? Or are you really stalking them for real?


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

(Shhhhh... it's a joke.  But don't tell anyone.)


----------



## Rammy

I dont know, dude. You kinda have me worried now.


----------



## RollingAcres

Rammy said:


> I dont know, dude. You kinda have me worried now.


Dude you can just stalk him back. After all he did post his real name and address somewhere here...


----------



## Rammy

Oh, yeah.........


----------



## greybeard

Female Farmers.....hmmm..


----------



## farmerjan

Oh, to be that YOUNG and blonde and good looking....


----------



## Bruce

farmerjan said:


> Oh, to be that YOUNG and blonde and good looking....


You forgot to add "again"


----------



## farmerjan

Since I was never blonde and good looking I certainly can't say AGAIN.... my sister was the blonde in the family, and slender and good looking... good thing she was 10 + years younger than me or we would've had a serious conflict....  so I really did mean to be that young and blonde and good looking....


----------



## Baymule

farmerjan said:


> Since I was never blonde and good looking I certainly can't say AGAIN.... my sister was the blonde in the family, and slender and good looking... good thing she was 10 + years younger than me or we would've had a serious conflict....  so I really did mean to be that young and blonde and good looking....


I must say.... your son is one handsome devil!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Since I have been so insistent on Miss @farmerjan, Miss @Mini Horses, and Miss @Rammy to post pictures of themselves, that I guess it is only fair that I post a more recent one of myself.  (The picture for my avatar is one of my wife and me the month we moved to Fort Walton Beach in October 1977.)  So without further ado, here is a more recent picture of me:



 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule




----------



## Latestarter

Funny that you have the recent picture you display. For my Gmail/google account, I used a couple of pictures of me from a few years back:


 

(compliments of Looney Toons/Warner Bros)


----------



## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> All,
> 
> Since I have been so insistent on Miss @farmerjan, Miss @Mini Horses, and Miss @Rammy to post pictures of themselves, that I guess it is only fair that I post a more recent one of myself.  (The picture for my avatar is one of my wife and me the month we moved to Fort Walton Beach in October 1977.)  So without further ado, here is a more recent picture of me:
> View attachment 54877
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## RollingAcres

Latestarter said:


> Funny that you have the recent picture you display. For my Gmail/google account, I used a couple of pictures of me from a few years back:
> View attachment 54880 View attachment 54881(compliments of Looney Toons/Warner Bros)


Hahahah...I could say something about that but I will refrain myself...


----------



## Wehner Homestead




----------



## Rammy

This is me when I have to go to work.


----------



## greybeard

I look like that when I don't get to or can't go to work.


----------



## farmerjan

Rammy said:


> This is me when I have to go to work.
> 
> View attachment 54894


----------



## Baymule

RollingAcres said:


> Hahahah...I could say something about that but I will refrain myself...


* WHY?*


----------



## RollingAcres

Baymule said:


> * WHY?*


Because it's NOT going to be rated G...and I'll make LS and some others (probably including myself) blush... lol


----------



## Rammy

RollingAcres said:


> Because it's NOT going to be rated G...and I'll make LS and some others (probably including myself) blush... lol


So PM us!!( and that better include me!) and tell us privately!!


----------



## Latestarter

Awwwwwww Hell no now ladies.... It's Public or not at all! Nobody is gonna make fun of this old cock in private!


----------



## greybeard

Latestarter said:


> Awwwwwww Hell no now ladies.... It's Public or not at all! Nobody is gonna make fun of this old cock in private!



Wanna bet?


----------



## RollingAcres

Latestarter said:


> Awwwwwww Hell no now ladies.... It's Public or not at all! Nobody is gonna make fun of this old cock in private!





greybeard said:


> Wanna bet?


----------



## Latestarter

Well, since this isn't my thread, we shouldn't be doing this to poor STA. Sorry TXAggie...


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Latestarter said:


> Well, since this isn't my thread, we shouldn't be doing this to poor STA. Sorry TXAggie...



Perfectly fine, Mr. @Latestarter, sir!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

farmerjan said:


> Oh, to be that YOUNG and blonde and good looking....



Miss @farmerjan,

I meant to respond at the time you wrote this, but only now responding.  While you may not be young now, you certainly aren't old (after all, I am a year and 2 days older than you).  I don't know if you are blond or not, but I bet you're just being modest and you are good looking...


----------



## Rammy

Age doesnt matter if your young at heart.


----------



## Latestarter

Spoken like a true "old folk"!


----------



## greybeard

Rammy said:


> Age doesnt matter if your young at heart.






Latestarter said:


> Spoken like a true "old folk"!


I'll comment on all that when I get old but my initial reaction is that a bunch of people are again tryin to convince themselves and not each other.


----------



## Rammy

Latestarter said:


> Spoken like a true "old folk"!


Smartypants


----------



## farmerjan

STA;  thanks for the compliment.... Aren't I a year and 2 days older than you???? '53.....  anyway, I won't stop an 8 day clock, but my sister got all the looks, cuteness, blonde, slender build.  I did get more "UP FRONT" curves than her, but would gladly have given her some.....  I am  (WHOOPS)  WAS   just plain old brunette, carry a little more weight than I should...and now am getting fairly grey/white.....
BUT MY ANIMALS LOVE ME......


----------



## Bruce

Rammy said:


> So PM us!!( and that better include me!) and tell us privately!!


Make sure you include @Baymule 
(she'll tell the rest of us)



farmerjan said:


> STA; thanks for the compliment


My older sister will be your age on Friday. And she isn't old so you can't be either!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

farmerjan said:


> and now am getting fairly grey/white.....
> BUT MY ANIMALS LOVE ME......



I've learned to like grey and white hair just as much as the other colors.  And we all love you, too!


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Make sure you include @Baymule
> (she'll tell the rest of us)


Are you saying she can't keep quiet about anything?


----------



## Bruce

Oh she probably can but I think she would want to share with us.


----------



## RollingAcres

farmerjan said:


> now am getting fairly grey/white



Grey/white is the new trend. People are dyeing their hair grey/white.
My hair is "salt & pepper", the "salt" is taking over more and more but I don't care.


----------



## Bruce

Similar here, every time I get my hair cut there is more white on the floor than the last time. Went to Aunt and Uncle's yesterday. Oldest cousin down from Redding, she's just turned 55 and has pepper and salt (cause there is still way more 'pepper'), cousin that lives in the same city as A&U (the same one she's lived in all her life to date) is 51. Her hair is all the same color ... except for the roots.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Yesterday, with the weather so nice and parts of the fields drying out, my Beautiful Gal and I decided to get back to cleaning out the brush and shrubs again.  In the process, we uncovered this pine with the unusually shaped trunk.  We could see the top of the pine from the porch, but not lower down, due to all of the small trees, shrubs, and vines: 

 

Dummy me forgot to get "before" pictures of our work, but here is a "during" picture.  The tractor tracks are where the yard ended and the jungle began.  There is probably 10 yards or so of vines and dead and fallen trees to the left of what you can see:
 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Cool. I wonder what was going on that the tree had to grow off to the side for some time. Maybe there had been a big tree that direction that dropped or was dropped and it grew to the light that was then available. 

I can't give you any grief for the lack of "before" pictures. I almost always forget to take them.


----------



## RollingAcres

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your wife STA!


----------



## Bruce

What she said!


----------



## RollingAcres

@Bruce I meant to post the same thing in your journal but I think I ended up posting that by mistake in someone else's journal lol


----------



## Bruce

It is the thought that counts! Happy T-Day to you and yours as well.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

RollingAcres said:


> @Bruce I meant to post the same thing in your journal but I think I ended up posting that by mistake in someone else's journal lol


Yes you did lol , on mine....Happy turkey day ya all  @Rolling Acres


----------



## RollingAcres

Happy thanksgiving to you as well @B&B Happy goats !


----------



## Latestarter

Well I'm just glad that anyone posting well wishes on my thread wasn't doing so by mistake... That would be a bit of a bummer...  Happy Thanksgiving to you STA and everyone else as well.


----------



## RollingAcres

Latestarter said:


> Well I'm just glad that anyone posting well wishes on my thread wasn't doing so by mistake... That would be a bit of a bummer...  Happy Thanksgiving to you STA and everyone else as well.


----------



## farmerjan

The '53 is  the year, not the age.... the age is now "OFFICIALLY"  65..... bummer.


----------



## Mike CHS

I was 68 last month but I quit counting them several years ago.


----------



## Baymule

I  like birthdays. I want all of them I can get! 

We had the 3 grand daughters for the weekend. I gave the two little ones a bath, then we played on our bed. They love to roll around on it, jump up and down, tickle and giggle. The 11 year old joined us and the four of us played for almost 2 hours. The 3 year old pointed to my face, "What's that Mamaw?" I told her, "That's a wrinkle." She screwed up her little face and asked, "Where do they come from?" I told her, "You get them when you have a birthday. She thought a moment then so seriously replied, "I don't want anymore birthdays."


----------



## farmerjan

Baymule said:


> I  like birthdays. I want all of them I can get!
> 
> We had the 3 grand daughters for the weekend. I gave the two little ones a bath, then we played on our bed. They love to roll around on it, jump up and down, tickle and giggle. The 11 year old joined us and the four of us played for almost 2 hours. The 3 year old pointed to my face, "What's that Mamaw?" I told her, "That's a wrinkle." She screwed up her little face and asked, "Where do they come from?" I told her, "You get them when you have a birthday. She thought a moment then so seriously replied, "I don't want anymore birthdays."



SMART KID!!!!!
I will take them too, just wish they didn't all hurt the body so much.  Weeeellllll, guess I shouldn't have hurt the body so much when I was younger so it could all just add up and pile up and start paying me back now

After the recent deaths we have had to try to accept, and now a good friend of my son's who was diagnosed with cancerous tumors, went into remission and he did a miraculous comeback.... for about a year.  Then it came back with a vengenance.   He has now stopped all treatment and they have asked for hospice to come in to help.   38 years old.  Blended family with his, hers, and his ex's  kids, it is really sad.  We traded, loaned, borrowed, and helped each other out with farm equipment, hauling cattle, chickens,  everything...  So yeah, I'll take the years, with the pains....


----------



## Latestarter

Really sorry to hear Jan... Seems folks are dropping like flies around you. And this time he's so young... What a terrible thing for his family to bear.  Try to enjoy your Thanksgiving. There's always something to be thankful for.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

farmerjan said:


> The '53 is the year, not the age.... the age is now "OFFICIALLY" 65..... bummer.



I knew what you meant.  I was born in 1952.



Baymule said:


> I like birthdays. I want all of them I can get!



My dad used to say, "Old age is good for you, because the older you get, the longer you live!"



farmerjan said:


> So yeah, I'll take the years, with the pains....





Latestarter said:


> There's always something to be thankful for.



Miss @farmerjan, our sincerest wishes to you.  You are such a good hearted person that it is time some good came your way.  

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

I was born 24 days before the North Koreans crossed the 38th parallel.


----------



## Bruce

Baymule said:


> She thought a moment then so seriously replied, "I don't want anymore birthdays."


Boy is SHE going to miss out on a lot!



Mike CHS said:


> I was 68 last month but I quit counting them several years ago.


So you are then only about the same age as @farmerjan 



greybeard said:


> I was born 24 days before the North Koreans crossed the 38th parallel.


I think that makes you the most senior member of the herd.


----------



## greybeard

No, I know of  at least 2 others here at byh that predate me and one more that looks as if they do so by about 3 decades, but I won't mention their names....


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, Mr. @greybeard, sir, all of us young folks in our 60s are glad you are still with us!


----------



## greybeard

greybeard said:


> Permanent survey markers are generally only installed at property line corners, tho the surveyors may leave some temporary markers as waypoints in the middle of a long run. Here, the surveyors install wooden laths with orange ribbon as a way point, and another at each corner, but also drive a metal rod with orange or white top down to ground level or just below ground level at property line corners. They look like a giant nail, several feet long with a flat top....may or may not have writing on the 'nailhead'.
> If you find one of the markers, leave it alone, but it is fine to drive your own (more visible) marker down right behind it. I usually use a length of 2" X 2' long angle iron, as it kind of encapsulates the surveyor's official rod while still allowing them to find it.... as well as me being able to find it easily without a metal detector.



Yesterday, I happened to be over in an area I knew one the official markers was still visible behind my own larger marker.
 The little yellow 3/4" round doohickey is the top of the surveyors permanent marker. The steel channel iron is a post I drove right in front of their marker. There is some writing stamped into the top of it, but it didn't show up in the photo.









I built my fence in such a way that all of it, posts and wire, would be 100% on my property.  This precludes any future property owner/'next door neighbor' from changing my fence in any way. 
If a new 'neighbor' wants to have a different kind of fence, they can build their own. They are not using my posts.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

My Beautiful Gal and I decided to visit some parts of our property that we had never visited before.  We visited the southernmost point and found an orange T post that perhaps was the boundary (point A below).  Then we drove to the westernmost portion of the south mowed pasture and walked southwest, up the ridge a ways, till we saw the remains of a fence that had been fastened to a tree, with the tree having grown around the barbed wire (point B below).  But we did not see any sign of orange stakes around anywhere.
 

Do you folks know of any good app for Android (Samsung Galaxy) that will work to show property boundaries even when offline?  For most of our property we do not have a good cellphone signal, although I can prepare the app with any maps before proceeding away from the house.  I have installed HuntStand, as that was recommended by a viewer of an episode of the Stony Ridge Farmer, and it MAY do the job, but I would like to get you folks' inputs.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Rammy

Google maps. My surveyor uses it for his survey work.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Wish I had that much property that I hadn't seen yet, lol ....way to go sir !


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Rammy said:


> Google maps.



I have frequently used Google Maps, but I thought Google Maps had to have access to the internet/cellphone network whenever it was being used.  Is there a way to use it without access to internet/cellphone network?


----------



## Rammy

No clue. You can do a search on your phone and see if there are other ways to give you an idea. If you have a smart phone, you can probably download the app. Worth a shot.


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I have frequently used Google Maps, but I thought Google Maps had to have access to the internet/cellphone network whenever it was being used.  Is there a way to use it without access to internet/cellphone network?


Google maps won't work without an internet signal of some sort..cell, sat, broadband etc. Of course, you can always print out the image of YOUR property when at a location that does have service...which will help significantly.
You can also, find the GPS coordinates of your property lines off a previous survey, and use any of several  hand held gps devices or a good cell phone with gps capability. You really need one that uses both US GPS and GLONASS satellites. GLONASS will reportedly get you a lot closer than just usin standard GPS.. A metal detector and Etool will be a big help too.

There are other online apps and programs that find corners for real estate agents but they require certain info and  problem is, not every area has GIS data.
https://www.gislounge.com/five-gis-and-map-apps-iphone/

reading..
https://propertylinemaps.com/p/pdf-cell-phone-find-property-lines.pdf


Another option, which I successfully used about a dozen years ago, was to get the info off the most recent survey and find your corners with a good compass......you will need to first shoot or establish an azimuth, a pedometer as well or a 300' tapeline..and a helper.
(running a compass course in the daylight and dark was one of the things that stuck with me from my Marine Corps time.)


There are some apps you can buy but I don't know how good they are of if they are any better than going to your county a getting a copy of the last survey maps.

I have no idea how accurate or how well these work:
https://findpropertylines.com/p2/find-property-lines.html
https://www.techwalla.com/articles/how-to-determine-a-real-property-boundary-with-gps

Hunting/hunter discussion boards are a treasure trove for this kind of information.


----------



## Bruce

greybeard said:


> You can also, find the GPS coordinates of your property lines off a previous survey, and use any of several hand held gps devices or a good cell phone with gps capability.


I would think this is the best way if your survey has GPS coordinates.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> I would think this is the best way if your survey has GPS coordinates.


It is what most professional surveyors use today, tho it does require you have a good signal. He doesn't have to get dead nubs on...just close enough to find the marker which is almost sure to be driven to ground level or just below.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, folks, I finally remembered to look in all of the papers we received when we bought this place.  I found an 8 1/2" by 11" copy of the survey, so I scanned it in and redacted my name, so here it is:

 

Unless I am blind or my Aggie I/Q is getting in the way, there aren't any Lat/Long readings for the markers.  I don't know if the directions east and west of north and south refer to true north and true south or to magnetic north and magnetic south.  We have located the two markers at the extreme southern boundary, and the metal post that is 1051.60 ft northwest of the southernmost point, but none of the other markers.  It should be fun locating them as time goes by.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Mine looks like that too, no lat/lon. Survey was done in 2011 when the people we bought from split the place into "buildings and 5ish acres" and the other 21ish acres. We bought both.

I guess you could get a compass and follow one of the short legs. If you don't end up in the right place, the measurements must be relative to true north and you'll have to find out what the deviation is for your area.


----------



## greybeard

You will need the surveyor's notes to get the gps co-ordinates easily and exact. It appears when the place went up for sale, a completely new survey was not done, but instead, the surveyor just went in and confirmed a previous survey, which is why it says:



That is common practice. It's much cheaper, easier and faster to confirm old survey notes and bearings than do a full survey.

With some time to do some scaling of the picture you posted, I could probably get you pretty close in GPS.
Plug the following into a google search (maps) for your Southernmost corner: (use one or the other..not both at the same time) and then switch to whatever sat view you prefer to use.
35.082080, -93.834744
or
35°04'55.5"N 93°50'05.1"W

And as the plat's information indicates, you will be looking for 1/2" rebar with a 3/4" cap on top of it, probably very similar to what you see in the photos I posted earlier.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I finally remembered to take pictures of the area at the entrance to the trash dump in the woods.  I stopped getting out the trash because the ground got so boggy that I was afraid of getting stuck.  After waiting 2 weeks, I decided to try again.  Before starting, I took pictures of the entrance before trying to get out any more trash.  The first picture is looking southeast.  The pond dam is to the right and the trash dump is to the left.  Notice how deep the tractor ruts still are after 2 weeks:
 

This second picture is looking northeast at the turnoff from behind the pond into the trash dump area.  Notice how deep the tractor ruts are at the entrance.
 

I started removing more trash from the area, but was only able to move about 4 grapple loads before the area got so boggy again that I had to stop before I got stuck.

What can I do to dry this area out?  If I don't dry it out, I fear it will be next year before I can get finished.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

On your property, what are you doing with each grapple full when you bring it out of the dump area?


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Right now, I am simply moving to a high dry spot in the pasture.  Once I get all of the junk removed, I plan on loading it on a trailer and hauling it to a scrap metal place.  Do you have any recommendations that I do it some other fashion?


----------



## greybeard

Yep. Stop making so many trips down there to get each grapple load up to dry ground.

You are right...you will get stuck doing it like you are...I've btdt. It's like patting your foot on the cool hard dark sand of a beach..in just a few seconds water appears. Every trip you make with your tractor is forcing liquid up and turning the relatively dry top few inches into viscous crap..
Instead of making 1 round trip for every grapple load, get one of these for the back of your tractor.
They are worth their weight in preventing wear and tear and mud holes.




I assume you have an empty one of these:




Hook the trailer to the back of the tractor, take it down to the dump site you are cleaning up and disconnect it from the tractor. Load it with about 20 grapple loads of crap, hook back on the trailer with the tractor and instead of making 20 round trips you only make 1 round trip.
(if possible, avoid driving in the same rut twice no matter what.)


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I started removing more trash from the area, but was only able to move about 4 grapple loads before the area got so boggy again that I had to stop before I got stuck.


You could wait until the ground freezes 
I think @greybeard had a better suggestion


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

greybeard said:


> Instead of making 1 round trip for every grapple load, get one of these for the back of your tractor.



I'll look into doing that.  Thanks, Mr. @greybeard, sir!


----------



## CntryBoy777

It seems that ya have had quite the adventures while I have been preoccupied STA....tho, with most of the issues, my "pay grade" is well below being of any worth with advice and suggestions. However, the holes ya described and the water situation is something that is a "shared" experience. On the 20 acres we left there was a very similar situation happening in 1 of the fields....this field was bordered by a ditch on one side and woods on a hill on the other. We had rabbit, fox, and coyotes that utilized that area and there were also underground springs in other places, too. GB mentioned he had a similar experience with beaver, in my case I believe that the holes and tunnels were originally done by rabbits and possibly later used and widened by fox, possum, or coon....this increased the amount of waterflow towards the ditch and eroded dirt, causing it to give way at the surface. I was going to endeavor to pursue this had we remained there, but now, it is another's issue to deal with.....so, I'm unable to post any outcome as to what it really was...or, whether there was success in repairing it. I know it isn't an up-to-date topic for ya now....but just wanted ya to know ya don't have to feel like the "lone stranger" with such a bizarre situation.....


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @CntryBoy777,

As you probably have figured out, I have been reading your journal.  (I would normally have said that I have been stalking you, but I think I spooked Miss @Rammy badly [see below], so I don't want to spook her any more.)



Rammy said:


> I dont know, dude. You kinda have me worried now.



I am currently on page 151, so I have a ways to go.  The fact that you stated that you no longer reside at your former place means I have a lot of news to read.  I hope it has a happy ending.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

I took some pics of the channels the aquatic rodents caused here, recently and in years past, one was probably a decade old. I just haven't gotten around to posting them.


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> The fact that you stated that you no longer reside at your former place means I have a lot of news to read. I hope it has a happy ending.


We all hope so too. The story is still evolving, read fast and maybe you can "hear" the end of it "live" with the rest of us .


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I have been busy the past few days trying to tear up my mower and tractor.  I was unsuccessful in tearing up the mower, but I was successful in tearing up the tractor.  Fortunately it was only a fuse on the tractor that was easily replaced.  First, here are a couple of pictures that I took Saturday after mowing the overgrown southernmost pasture, including the "Forest of No Return".  I could not remember exactly where I took the "before" pictures back in August, so the locations may not exactly match.  These are points C and D from my post of August 1 (see https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...for-the-rest-of-you.38161/page-16#post-562125):

Point C, before and after:

  

Point D, before and after:
  

Now to the tractor.  Once I had finished for the day mowing through the "Forest of No Return", I decided to head back home.  But rather than simply drive straight there, I decided to mow some of the pasture that I had yet to mow.  I got about halfway through the first pass when the tractor suddenly died.  All electrical power appeared to go away.  I immediately suspected a fuse or fusible link.  So I called my Beautiful Gal on the walkie talkie, who then came and got me.  After going back to the shop to get my toolbox and volt meter, we both went back to the tractor.

First, I measured the voltage across the posts of the battery: 12.97 volts, so the battery is OK.  Next, I decided to check the fusible link.  I was unable to get the two halves of the fusible link apart.  I worked for 30 minutes trying to get the two halves apart:
  

I was tempted to go get my Dremel and cut the two halves apart, but I hated to do that, as I feared that I would never be able to get the two halves back together again and have them stay together.  Then I noticed that the ends of the fusible link could be reached using my volt meter probe.  So I tested the red wire coming from the starter and battery with ground and read 12.97 volts.  Then I tested the other red wire from the fusible link going into the main wiring harness.  Again, 12.97 volts.  So the fusible link was good.  I then determined that fuse #3, which controls the gauges, starter switch, etc., had blown.  The cause turned out to be the neutral safety switch wiring had torn loose from the switch into the transmission and was grounding out on the tractor.  Once I fixed that, then the tractor started right up and I was able to get back to the shop.

But do any of you folks know how to get that fusible link housing apart?  It may actually blow one day and I will need to replace it.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## CntryBoy777

Is the link spring locked or a twisting lock?....or clips with tabs?.....not being a tractor man, I don't know what is normally used on them.....the work sure looks really good and know ya are pleased with the results....I sure would be....


----------



## Bruce

I don't know either, wouldn't even know where my tractor's fusible line is. But that does look like a connector where you have to push something down, a tab maybe, to be able to pull the halves apart.


----------



## greybeard

You slip a thin blade between the 2 halves. Are you sure that's a fusible link? Looks like a regular Asian type connector they all use.



 
(it may come apart from the opposite end..I didn't lighten the other image so I could see it good.)
I usually use a set of leads with  really sharp points and just probe thru the wire's insulation on things like that.


Now you're doing some serious mowing!

For future enjoyment, make sure you take some good close google earth screenshots of the areas you are working. It is always interesting to go back in a couple of years, when the new sat photos show up in GE and compare what you have done with this years images.


----------



## Latestarter

Looking much clearer after the mowing! Nice job. Glad the tractor issue wasn't more serious.


----------



## Baymule

You got it looking real good! And you are learning the joys of fixing the tractor.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

My Beautiful Gal and I went to Fort Smith early yesterday to pick up a glass covering for the coffee table and several screens for our windows that had gotten damaged.  When we got back, I decided to round up all of the brush into two brush piles and burn them.  Once I had finished the first brush pile, I tried lighting it, using diesel as a starter.  Once the diesel burned off, the fire went out.  I guess the brush is still wet from the last rain, and with more rain on the way, I doubt I will be burning the brush any time soon.  By the time I finished rounding up the brush for the second pile, it was getting dark, so I came in.  I didn't log into BYH, but waited for this morning.

When I did log in this morning, I couldn't believe how many posts had been made!  I spent an hour catching up!  I wish I had been on-line, so I could have participated in the fun!  Thanks to all for all of the humor I was able to read.

Mr. @greybeard,  I failed to answer your question you posed to me recently:


greybeard said:


> Are you sure that's a fusible link? Looks like a regular Asian type connector they all use.



Here is the page from my owner's manual that made me think that was the fusible link:



But if you think I am misreading the manual, by all means let me know.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Yes sir, you sure missed a funny evening..have a fantastic day


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Mr. @greybeard, I failed to answer your question you posed to me recently:
> Here is the page from my owner's manual that made me think that was the fusible link:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> But if you think I am misreading the manual, by all means let me know.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie





The connector, is just that..a connector. The fusible link is the wire itself that goes from one side of the connector to the hot lug on the starter. Most of the time, they burn in half somewhere in the  middle of the wire, and the way you would replace it, is to cut the wire ahead of where it enters the connector and splice in a new wire of the proper size.
That replacement part *SBA385608910 *

Is a Case/New Holland part that is likely, nothing but a piece of insulated wire about 10" long with a ring connector on the starter end and a crimp splice connector on the other end. $32 at NHC and you can get the same thing at NAPA for less than $10.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @greybeard,

Thanks for setting me straight.  I'm glad I didn't cut the connector in two only to find that it was a connector!  Doh!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Mr. @greybeard,
> 
> Thanks for setting me straight.  I'm glad I didn't cut the connector in two only to find that it was a connector!  Doh!
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


You do have a glimmer of light once in awhile! LOL LOL


----------



## Bruce

I believe you are right Bay, he did a fine job of trouble shooting the failure. No idea what I would have done in his shoes!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Haven't had much to post -- been too busy stalking @CntryBoy777 and am now stalking someone else on BYH.  But have a few pictures for you.

First, the power company came and cleared away the brush and limbs from the power line on Tuesday & Wednesday.  They cut the bush that had the orange ribbon that marked the corner of our property line that the surveyors left, so we will now have to use a metal detector to find the rod that is in the ground.  Here is what the brush and trees looked like after they finished.  This is from near the creek looking back toward the house near the western boundary of our property:
 

We also worked a little at clearing some more of the brush and trees that are south of the workshop.  The pictures below are after we had cut down all of the blackberry bushes and vines and all of the shrubs, but very few trees.  This shows just how much more there is to clear out.  The pictures were taken from west of and just south of the shop:
Looking south southwest:
 

Looking south southeast:
 

Looking southeast:
 

The part that makes it even more interesting is that the ground back there is quite uneven, so I won't be able to use the mower on the tractor.  I hope I will still be able to use the grapple, though!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Rammy

When you find your markers, put a tpost there and either use tape or spray paint the ends. Easier to find. Make sure they are tall enough and marked good so they dont get run over.


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## B&B Happy goats

Then you can fence some in and get some goats to do the cleaning for you, they don't  mind uneven  ground.... just a sugestion STA.....


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

B&B Happy goats said:


> Then you can fence some in and get some goats to do the cleaning for you, they don't mind uneven ground.... just a sugestion STA.....



Miss @B&B Happy goats,

That may be not a bad idea!  Earlier in my journal I talked about getting goats to clear the overgrowth in the south pasture, but it proved to be not workable unless I spent A LOT of money on fence and cross fence and goat buildings, etc.  But this area is not that big, and in the woods behind the vines, it is clear.  Maybe that is a workable plan...

Senile Texas Aggie


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## B&B Happy goats

You could get some wethers,  let them live and eat everything that they like...and you get by product of....fertilizer  for the ground...... you don't  have to get the fancy pants goats, ... you may decide to eat them or keep them.....options are open ..... nonthing beats a failure but a try.....


----------



## B&B Happy goats

When we first moved here and got semi settled, our neighbor had a explosion of pregnent goats...(the bucks broke out of their pen )     we took ten to our place, threw up some welded wire for containment and made a refugee  camp out of tarps for shelter...it worked, all ten goats kidded here....


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## Rammy

You can get some of that premiere one electric mesh fence with the solar charger. Fence in what you need, move it along. Might be easier than putting up a perminent fence.


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## B&B Happy goats

@Rammy I think we should make a road trip to go give STA a hand...


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

B&B Happy goats said:


> @Rammy I think we should make a road trip to go give STA a hand...



That would be wonderful!  First, we would get to meet you two wonderful ladies in person, and second, I would get some adult supervision that I always need!


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## B&B Happy goats

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> That would be wonderful!  First, we would get to meet you two wonderful ladies in person, and second, I would get some adult supervision that I always need!


 I am sure your wife has that supervision under control,  you always speak so kindly of "your gal "   .... it's  very sweet !


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## RollingAcres

B&B Happy goats said:


> I am sure your wife has that supervision under control,  you always speak so kindly of "your gal " .... it's very sweet !


I think STA is very sweet. He always refer to his wife "my beautiful gal".....***heart melt***


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## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> First, we would get to meet you two wonderful ladies in person, and second, I would get some adult supervision that I always need



I don't think @Rammy and @B&B Happy goats would be doing any supervision. If you have read their posts before, you'd know that they may need supervision themselves!


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## CntryBoy777

Ya just might get a chance to meet here in Florida first....that is if the timing of things works out here shortly....I'm still seriously considering the Offers and will PM ya before too much longer.....


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## B&B Happy goats

RollingAcres said:


> I don't think @Rammy and @B&B Happy goats would be doing any supervision. If you have read their posts before, you'd know that they may need supervision themselves!


.....but true


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

More on the goats clearing out the vines and other things.  Here is a snippet from Google Earth to give you an idea of what I was showing in the previous pictures.  Point "A" is where I took the pictures from, and the white lines show the approximate directions I was looking:

 

What I am wondering is this: will I need to clear out a path for electric fencing so that it would not ground out?  And would I need to get the electric fencing close to the ground to prevent them from trying to go under it in the low spots?


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

RollingAcres said:


> I think STA is very sweet. He always refer to his wife "my beautiful gal".....***heart melt***



I have called my wife my Beautiful Gal since shortly after we were married.  And she is my Beautiful Gal. 



CntryBoy777 said:


> Ya just might get a chance to meet here in Florida first



Let me know when you can and maybe we can work something out.


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## Rammy

B&B Happy goats said:


> .....but true


Both of ya can KMB. Teehee......


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## RollingAcres

Rammy said:


> Both of ya can KMB. Teehee......


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> will I need to clear out a path for electric fencing so that it would not ground out? And would I need to get the electric fencing close to the ground to prevent them from trying to go under it in the low spots?


Yes and yes, with the 1st yes dependent on what kind of vegetation exists at near ground level. 
You can get an energizer that puts out enough reserve voltage that it will still be a strong animal deterrent even in heavy weeds and grass, but if it's thicker, like  vines you will have to cut them from under the fence.


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## Bruce

Rammy said:


> Both of ya can KMB. Teehee......


KMB??



CntryBoy777 said:


> Ya just might get a chance to meet here in Florida first....that is if the timing of things works out here shortly....I'm still seriously considering the Offers and will PM ya before too much longer.....


He's cracking, he's gonna let his friends help if they can


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## frustratedearthmother

Bruce said:


> KMB??


Think about it Bruce... lol

K(iss) M(y) B(utt) - at least that's what it means in my part of the world...


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## RollingAcres

Bruce said:


> KMB??





frustratedearthmother said:


> Think about it Bruce... lol
> 
> K(iss) M(y) B(utt) - at least that's what it means in my part of the world...



Ohhhh Bruce....


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## Bruce

Well you know, in SOME places it is KMA!


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## farmerjan

@Senile_Texas_Aggie ;  have you ever thought about asking at the extension service if there is anyone who rents out their goats to do brush clearing?  Some states are actually hiring some goat people to do clearing of brush under power lines and such.  Ought to check around and see if there is anyone doing that.  Sure there would be some cost, but maybe a good way to get some steep ground cleaned up, with no capital outlay on your part and someone else with the equipment and knowledge to do the work.  Just a thought.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @farmerjan,

That's a great idea!  I'll look into that and see what I find out.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Ridgetop

Goats forage the brush rather than grass, cows eat taller grass, sheep eat the grass to the ground, hogs root out stuff.  They all have a role to play in clearing ground.  You can eat them all when they are done with their work.  But first you need fencing.  Electric fencing can be tricky with tall grass and brush grounding it out so you will need to do your homework.  Greybeard probably can help you there.

Some people rent out goats and sheep to clear ground, but some of the rent to clear people require fencing since they don't stay with the herd, just turn them in with dogs to protect them. 

Read about the Canadian government forestry clearance program where they hire people with large flocks to travel through the forests clearing out the understory to prevent catastrophic forest fires.  One of the original flock persons to do this has written some good articles about his LGDs and how they work under those conditions.  Incredibly interesting!


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## Mike CHS

The city of Nashville has a contract with a Katahdin sheep farm to gang graze 150+ sheep on a riverbank that was almost impassable.  It didn't take long till all of the vegetation was gone.


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## farmerjan

Did a quick search on the internet and there are several "brush clearing" goat services.  Don't know your area, but the "greedy goats" have several references and the U of Arkansas also has some info.  Hopefully you can find something that would help you out, and not have you tied down to animals that you aren't familiar with and have never handled before.  As @Mike CHS  stated, there are places that do contracts for that.  Maybe too expensive, but you never know until you do some checking....


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## Bruce

If you are doing movable fence you can mow a strip with the brush hog first then put in the fence.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone, for all of the suggestions!  I will first check with the local county agent and see what he recommends.


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## greybeard

And it may be that your close proximity to the field trial area (dogs) will help keep predators away from your own property.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Part 1: Bentonite 
Mr @greybeard, sir, earlier on my journal you mentioned using Bentonite to seal a pond.  Can that be used in an existing pond without draining it?

Part 2: markers
I will be referencing the following map in the text that follows:

 

I decided to try to locate the different markers (survey stakes) that mark the boundaries of our property.  The corner of our property closest to our house (point A) was marked by orange tape on the bushes next to the pasture.  But when the power line company cleared out the limbs and brush earlier last week they cut down all of the bushes with the orange tape.  So I went and looked for a marker that I could see where they cleared the bushes and trees.  I could not find anything.  I decided to order a metal detector to help me find the marker.  Once it came in yesterday, I went to about where the orange tape was, guided by my phone app HuntStand.  After a few false positives (at least I didn't find anything an inch or two below the soil surface), I finally found a rusted orange T-post, so I placed another new T-post where the tip looked like it broke off:
 

But I am wondering whether or not there should be a rebar driven into the ground marking the actual survey boundary, and not a simple T-post.  That seems to be a bit "Aggie-engineered".  I would have thought something more permanent would have been used.

While I was at it, I decided to see if I could locate the western boundaries of the property (points B & C).  I asked myself, "Should I walk all the way over there, carrying two T-posts and the driver, as well as a can of paint, or can I get there in the Gator side-by-side?"  I decided to dare using the Gator.  So I plunged into the woods, running over small (and not so small) trees and bushes.  The woods look like they are not that old, as there are quite a few smaller trees in there.  It proved to be an ordeal.  While I was on my way to point B, I found a deer stand at point D, which had an old game camera there.  I claimed it (it's on my property, after all), but I don't yet know if it works.  Finally I got to point B.  It was marked.  Then I headed south to find point C.  I found it as well.  Then I started back more or less toward the house.  (It turned out I was headed a bit more south than I realized.)  I ran into a lane through the woods made for a side-by-side or maybe a truck (path E).  My HuntStand app showed me that I was on our property, but the lane headed almost due south, up the ridge.  I followed the trail until I reached the top of the ridge.  The HuntStand app showed me I was well on our neighbors' property.  So I guess that the neighbor and the previous owner who built our house had an agreement to hunt together.  I went back down the path to its end, then headed back to the house.  The poor Gator took a bit of a beating -- I managed to tear loose the left front fender from the floorboard!  But I fixed that this morning.

Today my wife and I decided to try to find the property boundary marker at point F.  After telling me of my adventures yesterday, she wanted to go with me this time.  So we looked for the marker at point F.  But this trip this morning for us was worse than yesterday's trip was for me.  The land starts to rise up a ridge the farther south you go, and the land starts getting steeper.  Pretty soon we were just creeping along. Keep in mind that we sometimes have to run over trees, and that means sometime getting a running start.  So it was very slow going, and finally I decided that we should turn around.  That's when the REAL fun began!  First, I discovered that we had lost the T-posts!  Because the hill was so steep, the posts were actually lower at the back of the Gator (on top of the tail gate) than they were at the front of the Gator (at the bottom of the bed).  With all of the bouncing over logs and trees, they slid out somewhere.

At this point my wife decided to get out and go look for the posts while I turned around.

Then when I tried to turn around, I was in for another surprise.  For you see, a Gator doesn't want to track on a steep slope where you have it pointed.  Instead, due to the wet ground and the steepness, it tends to slide down the hill as you are driving along.  So when I would aim between two trees I would often slide down so that the lower tree was now in the way.  But finally, after about an hour, I was able to turn around.  While I was turning around, my wife had found the T-posts and also found the marker that we were looking for.  (We had missed it to the west as we went up the hill.)  She didn't take any pictures -- in fact, dummy me forgot to take any pictures either yesterday or today -- but she said that the marker was easily visible.  We and the Gator made it out alive again.  But I don't think I want to chance driving on a steep hill in the woods any more!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## RollingAcres

Sounds like quite an adventure for you and your beautiful gal. Glad no one was hurt and glad that the Gator was not stuck.


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Part 1: Bentonite
> Mr @greybeard, sir, earlier on my journal you mentioned using Bentonite to seal a pond. Can that be used in an existing pond without draining it?


Depends what's on the pond bottom, size of the pond and how bad and where the leak(s) is (are). 
Most of the time, the leak is a seep where the original ground meets the soil dam that was placed on the existing soil. Fairly easy to take a little rowboat with sacks of sodium bentonite and go along about 2-4 ft from the dam's edge and sprinkle the bentonite granules into the water. It will sink, the granules hydrate out and should get drawn into the porous areas. 

If the bottom of the pond is covered in vegetation, that can cause a problem if you are trying to seal the entire bottom area. The granules never make it down to make contact with the bottom.

There are also companies that will 'shoot' the bentonite granules out all over the pond using a moderate pressure/high volume water cannon type thing with a hopper into which the bentonite is fed into the water stream just before the nozzle. My b-i-l had his pond sealed like this both with bentonite and then only a few months ago, fertilized. The bentonite application was expensive...  he said if he had it to do over again, he wouldn't, and he's usually pretty loose with his wallet.

Bentonite is HEAVY per volume. 
A 1/10 inch layer of Bentonite 1 sq ft in area will weigh nearly a lb. A cu yd weighs nearly 1 ton.

If the pond is small, I suggest you drain it and apply it by a different method.
You county agent person can tell you what's available in your area.


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## Bruce

Does your Gator have a full underbody pan??? I don't know squat about that sort of machine but running most anything over standing trees of any size sounds like you are asking for trouble ... and expensive repairs.


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## Latestarter

Wow STA, sounds like you had an adventurous couple of days there. Just curious based on the first map... You highlighted and outlined in blue "some" property boundaries, yet went to look for a marker (F) well south of the southern boundary. Doesn't your property actually continue SE down to the corner point off the map?


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## Baymule

Next time take the tractor and the bush hog!


----------



## CntryBoy777

Sounds to me like ya are needin to add a wench to your Gator STA.....and at least 1 rachet strap.........and ya never said diddle-squat about that old game camera....I was expecting ya to come back and tell us ya had pics of a freak of nature 19 pt buck on it.....


----------



## Bruce

Or a Yeti!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Sorry that I have been slow to answer your comments and questions.  I will tell you what we have been up to after I respond to those:


farmerjan said:


> have you ever thought about asking at the extension service if there is anyone who rents out their goats to do brush clearing?



_I don’t really know anyone around that rents goats.  You could probably buy some fairly inexpensively and them sell them when you got done with them.  Fencing is a problem for goats, you need a much better fence to keep them in than cows. Temporary electric fence might be the easiest and cheapest route that would be effective._​


Ridgetop said:


> Goats forage the brush rather than grass, cows eat taller grass, sheep eat the grass to the ground, hogs root out stuff. They all have a role to play in clearing ground. You can eat them all when they are done with their work. But first you need fencing.



I will think about putting in fencing.  Considering the only fencing I have ever done -- and that was repair -- was chain link fence.  So I will get to learn about fencing as well as taking care of goats, if we decide to go that route.



farmerjan said:


> Did a quick search on the internet and there are several "brush clearing" goat services. Don't know your area, but the "greedy goats" have several references and the U of Arkansas also has some info. Hopefully you can find something that would help you out, and not have you tied down to animals that you aren't familiar with and have never handled before.



I forgot to do that search.  I will try to remember to do that before the end of the day.



Bruce said:


> Does your Gator have a full underbody pan??? I don't know squat about that sort of machine but running most anything over standing trees of any size sounds like you are asking for trouble ... and expensive repairs.



While the Gator is designed for off-road use, and has full under-protection, that does not mean it is indestructible.  So we will be trying to not abuse it quite so much in the future.  (More below.)



Latestarter said:


> You highlighted and outlined in blue "some" property boundaries, yet went to look for a marker (F) well south of the southern boundary. Doesn't your property actually continue SE down to the corner point off the map?



The blue outline was caused by my having used the tax assessor's picture of the tract, which highlighted the main tract.  The tax assessor has our property broken into three tracts: the main one of about 105 acres, the tract on the southern end, which is about 30 acres, and the northeast tract, of about 25 acres.  The marker we were looking for is on the southern tract.  Unfortunately, the HuntStand app has only the boundaries of the main tract highlighted, so we were having to guess where the marker was on the southern tract.



Baymule said:


> Next time take the tractor and the bush hog!



I did consider that, except after my experience in ripping off the canopy I was reluctant to enter the forest with all of those limbs sticking out, hungry for another canopy to eat!



CntryBoy777 said:


> Sounds to me like ya are needin to add a wench to your Gator STA.....and at least 1 rachet strap.........and ya never said diddle-squat about that old game camera



We did take the come-along with us yesterday -- fortunately didn't need it.  Getting a wench for the gator is something I am considering.  Regarding the game camera, I did bring it into the house yesterday to see what pictures may be on it, only to discover that the SIM card had been removed!  Rats!

Yesterday we decided to make a path from the pasture to the deer stand.  I don't know why I chose the deer stand, other than I had it marked on the HuntStand app.  Instead of running over trees and bushes, we cut them down so that it would reduce the likelihood of damage to the Gator.  We did not get finished, and so will go back today to finish.  We will take some pictures, or maybe even a video.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Rammy

Did someone take the SIM card out of your camera? Did you have it where you can reach it easily? Or up in a tree?
I have read several websites on how to hide game cameras, and the most recommended way is to put it out of line of sight, meaning up in a tree. At least 10 to 12 feet. I got these camera mounts at Cabelas that work with any camera and they screw into the tree or any wood surface. I would also recommend getting game camera lockbox and a python cable to further secure the camera to deter theft.
Bad thing is, if they want it bad enough, their going to get it. I have my bushnell trophy cam in a lockbox and secured with the cable in my barn considering the past trouble Ive had. I intend to get one for the moultie one, too.

https://www.cabelas.com/product/Cab...a-Mounting-Brackets-Pack/1754851.uts?slotId=8

These are the ones I got. You can position the camera at any angle with these.
Hope this helps.


----------



## greybeard

CntryBoy777 said:


> Sounds to me like ya are needin to add a wench to your Gator STA







Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> We did take the come-along with us yesterday -- fortunately didn't need it. Getting a wench for the gator is something I am considering.


I foresee trouble abrewing..
 Beautiful Gal may have something to say about that.
https://www.google.com/search?q=wen...1#imgdii=hbP4jWAYTrBSlM:&imgrc=nh7n1cPx8ihJEM:

https://www.google.com/search?biw=1...gws-wiz-img.......0i7i30j0i8i7i30.KLwRLyWYiRs


----------



## frustratedearthmother




----------



## greybeard

Rammy said:


> Did someone take the SIM card out of your camera? Did you have it where you can reach it easily? Or up in a tree?


Someone probably took the sim card out of their camera to look at the images, then never went back to retrieve their camera. 
It was an old game cam that he found on his property.


----------



## greybeard

Now, regarding the winch on your gator........

Do your research on adding a winch or aftermarket lights and light bars to that machine. Many people enthusiastically do it with any of 100s of aftermarket kits available,  only to find the stock electric system, alternator,  and the oem glorified lawnmower battery aren't anywhere close to 'up to par' for the job. 
I just went thru this with my neighbor's 860i Gator, (he had added fancy forward and aft facing light bars and winch) and that battery on his is a royal pita to get out. 
The best and most common way to do it is to add a second battery and higher capacity "alternator'. (most Gators don't have an actual belt driven alternator........they use a wound stator that is located under the flywheel). 
Those hi-cap charging systems cost way more than the winch does..


----------



## Bruce

Could one use the stock system as long as the engine was running when running the winch? Especially if the winch is just for "emergency recovery" use.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I did consider that, except after my experience in ripping off the canopy I was reluctant to enter the forest with all of those limbs sticking out, hungry for another canopy to eat!


You could take the canopy off and ASSUMING you are on fairly level ground lower the ROPS.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Could one use the stock system as long as the engine was running when running the winch? Especially if the winch is just for "emergency recovery" use.


Depends. It will work for awhile, but keep in mind, running that winch motor is equivalent to cranking the starter motor over continuously or worse for however many minutes it takes to winch the vehicle out of the mud. How many CCAs you're using  is  going to be the determining factor. Batteries generally fail because of excessive discharge rates, and most stock charging systems cannot keep up with a hard winch pull for very long and, the longer it takes, the higher the voltage drop in line volts becomes.  Plates inside the battery warp and you suddenly have a bad cell. There's thread after thread on the subject over on the Gator boards.  A slow geared, low amp winch is a good option, but they cost a little more.


----------



## Bruce

Seems like low geared is what STA would want for "rescue" anyway. Not sure what all people use winches on vehicles for other than "rescue" but I'm sure there are many.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> 1. Seems like low geared is what STA would want for "rescue" anyway. 2. Not sure what all people use winches on vehicles for other than "rescue" but I'm sure there are many.


1.
"low geared" is a relative term. None of them are pulling at warp speed by any means. There are ways to turn a regular speed winch into a low speed/low amp winch by using a double set of pulleys (snatch blocks*) on the winch line.




(for the 3:1, you can run the deadman line to a lower position on the same tree the 1st line went to if your pulley has a swivel on it)
2. That's one of the problems with having a winch, or any other piece of equipment. At first  you use it sparingly and for it's original intended purpose, but before you know it, you're using it for all kinds of other things, some of which the thing was never intended to do.

*I don't wanna hear it!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

greybeard said:


> I foresee trouble abrewing..
> Beautiful Gal may have something to say about that.



It took me a minute or so just what you were talking about, Mr. @greybeard, sir.  Once it finally hit me I burst out laughing!  Thanks for pointing out my stupidity! 

Well, folks,

As I mentioned earlier, I said I would get pictures or a video.  I decided to do the video, since I had never done one before.  So my Beautiful Gal and I started recording a video starting at the shop and going all the way to the end of the trail we made.  When we got back, I offloaded the video and played it back.  The video was really shaky -- I forgot to enable the anti-shake feature -- but decided that I would upload to YouTube and publish it.  After it taking 15-20 minutes to upload, I finally watched it.  The video was being shown in portrait mode when it was shot in landscape mode!  On Windows Media it looked fine, but on YouTube it was sideways!  I never could figure out how to rotate the video.  Do you folks know?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Post the link, I can turn my laptop 90°


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

OK, here is my first video ever, showing the path we made from the shop to the deer stand area.  Please take your motion sickness medicine beforehand, as I forgot to enable the video stabilization on my phone:





Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Rammy

Pretty cool, @Senile_Texas_Aggie ! You really took off in that 4 wheeler pretty quick.  I lost my brrakfadt, thank you!  
Are the arrows on the tree there to keep you from getting lost? Guess bread crumbs didnt work too well, huh?
Nice wooded area. Is that deer stand yours or left there by somebody? If its not yours, looks like you got a free stand. 
I know someone who found a stand on his property and took it down. The guy came looking for it. He asked the property owner if he found it and he said he didnt find his stand but he took down HIS on HIS property. The guy took the hint and left.
What are you going to do with that area?


----------



## Bruce

Good thing you were driving, I needed a few more arrows on the trees!


----------



## Latestarter

Very nice countryside you've got there STA. Not sure if you're a hunter, but if so, seems like a great place to do so.


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## greybeard

Rammy said:


> Pretty cool, @Senile_Texas_Aggie
> Nice wooded area. Is that deer stand yours or left there by somebody? If its not yours, looks like you got a free stand.
> I know someone who found a stand on his property and took it down. The guy came looking for it. He asked the property owner if he found it and he said he didnt find his stand but he took down HIS on HIS property. The guy took the hint and left.





Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> So I plunged into the woods, running over small (and not so small) trees and bushes. The woods look like they are not that old, as there are quite a few smaller trees in there. It proved to be an ordeal. While I was on my way to point B, I found a deer stand at point D, which had an old game camera there. I claimed it (it's on my property, after all), but I don't yet know if it works. ...[snip/snip]... The HuntStand app showed me I was well on our neighbors' property. So I guess that the neighbor and the previous owner who built our house had an agreement to hunt together.


----------



## Rammy

Latestarter said:


> Very nice countryside you've got there STA. Not sure if you're a hunter, but if so, seems like a great place to do so.


Somebody also feels its a great place to hunt since they put a deer stand on it! Id take that thing down and leave a note that says, "thanks for the free deer stand!" from property owner who didnt give you permission to put it on my property...." haha!


----------



## greybeard

Look around some more, you may find a deer feeder as well, IF they can be used in Ark.


----------



## Bruce

Rammy said:


> Somebody also feels its a great place to hunt since they put a deer stand on it! Id take that thing down and leave a note that says, "thanks for the free deer stand!" from property owner who didnt give you permission to put it on my property...." haha!


Likely put up by the prior owner of the property, IIRC STA and his DW haven't owned it all that long.


----------



## Rammy

Bonus!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

We just got back from visiting family for Christmas.  We had a good time.  As is obvious for most folks here, the only white part of Christmas was the back side of the wrapping paper.  No snow in sight!

Really foggy and cool here at home.  Heavy rain forecast for tonight, so tomorrow will be soggy.  Not sure what we will do.  Maybe we can go back over to the deer stand and see how much water the little streams have in them.  I also need to do some repairs to the Gator -- the roof is loose where I scraped hard against a tree on the left side, and the right front headlight housing is loose where I banged it into a tree.  I think I repair all of those problems.

Now to a more long term problem: it seems that the Lithium batteries for the 20V Dewalt portable equipment run down more quickly than they did when I first got them back in May or June.  I know Lithium batteries eventually stop holding a charge as well compared to when they were new, but I figured that would not happen for a couple of years.  6-7 months seems a bit soon.  What experience have you folks had with Lithium batteries and their lifetimes?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

I imagine it depends on how often you use them and maybe how often you run them to "empty" before recharging. I agree that 6-7 months does seem short and a couple of years is more reasonable.


----------



## greybeard

Make sure when you re-charge them, you recharge to fully.


----------



## Baymule

I have had mine for 4 years and see a shorter time of usage for the batteries.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I always fully recharge them.  I have 3 batteries and 2 chargers.  The 3 batteries last as long as we normally feel like working.  When I did some research on the Internet about Lithium battery life, I repeatedly read that to discharge a lithium battery past 80% depletion shortens its life.  Yet we have no way of knowing how much charge remains.  We simply use the battery until the tool we are using (usually the reciprocating saw) no longer works, then switch batteries.  Is there a more reliable way to determine how much charge remains in a battery?


----------



## Baymule

That's what I do. How the heck are you supposed to know when there is 20% left on the battery? Saw or drill stops, I get another battery, plug in the other one. I have a Hitachi drill and saw, love them!


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I always fully recharge them.  I have 3 batteries and 2 chargers.  The 3 batteries last as long as we normally feel like working.  When I did some research on the Internet about Lithium battery life, I repeatedly read that to discharge a lithium battery past 80% depletion shortens its life.  Yet we have no way of knowing how much charge remains.  We simply use the battery until the tool we are using (usually the reciprocating saw) no longer works, then switch batteries.  Is there a more reliable way to determine how much charge remains in a battery?


----------



## greybeard

I hope everyone knows, that the 20vMAX is 18 volts just as most "20v" labeled batteries are just 18 volts.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @greybeard, sir, you are a genius and I am, well, a Senile Texas Aggie.  I didn't remember seeing the indicator above, so I walked out to the shop, and sure enough, there it was.  By pressing the battery charge button, the lights will then light up.  It may be too late to save these older batteries, but I will know to treat any new ones more carefully!  Thanks, Mr. @greybeard, sir!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

The old way is to check the battery with a voltmeter. 80% of 18V is 14.4V.
It's hap hazard/iffy because you can let a just used battery sit a few minutes and the voltage will be higher after a little rest as the electrons begin to 'settle/even back out' across all the individual areas of the battery instead of being all piled up on the negative side of the last individual battery inside the pack. But, if you know your way around a voltmter and how a Dewalt 20v battery is built, you can also check each cell, as well as total batt pack voltage without taking the pack apart. Most battery makers conveniently label the terminals.
Your Dewalt battery pack will roughly resemble this on the business end:




Placing you vom leads as shown, will display full voltage of the battery pack.
To check each cell, you would check each of c1, c2, c3, and c4 relative to Batt-.
(TH and ID are thermal lead and battery id respectively for use by tool & the charger, TH being an overload protection when the battery is in use, and will also prevent charging if the pack is too hot..often happens when pulled right of the tool after hard use. TH is a thermistor, ID has a resistor. )
Each cell, right off the charger, checked from it's respective terminal, should read just over 4vdc.
For instance.C1 to Batt Neg may read around 4.08v.
 C2 to Batt Neg would read a combination of it's voltage and C1's voltage or around 8.16 volts. C3 to Batt Neg would it's voltage plus the voltage of C1 and C2...
If you come up with one cell that shows low (for instance C1 shows 4.08, but checking C2 shows 6.9V, you know C2 is bad because 4.8V of that 6.9V came from C1.
You also have to include checking B+ to B- because there is another cell at the end.

Altho the terminals reflect 4 'cells', there are probably more individual batteries in the pack than 4...perhaps as many as 10 individual little batteries They are all connected in such a way as to make up 4 (or more) cells then combined into one pack. There's a little board inside there as well.
*I don't remember the name, but there is a website that shows all this for virtually every battery pack made and explains it much better than I did. Some Russian or Scandinavian sounding name. Starts with an 'S'.*

Why would you want to know all this? Each cell inside is identical to the others. If you have a bad pack, save the individual cells that test good and then you can repair any other bad packs you have in the future. Usually just takes a soldering gun.


----------



## Latestarter

I have the same Dewalt batteries and I just use them till the tool starts to "bog down" then stop and swap them out. I've never run the tool until the battery is completely dead and the tool stops working.


----------



## greybeard

All electric motors operate pretty efficiently up to about 10-15% voltage drop with little or no noticeable loss of power.
DC can do it a little better, but not much, especially on battery powered stuff. At beyond 20% drop in voltage, heat becomes a major issue for the battery and heat is the weak spot and downside of all lithium ion batteries. The battery pack may not feel real hot, but inside each of the cells, the temps can get excessive and there is little to dissipate the heat in such an enclosed compact package. 
When you run a battery down to the point the motor is noticeably lagging or lacking torque, you're very much shortening the life of the battery because of heat.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, Mr. @greybeard, sir!  Although I have probably shortened the battery life of 3 battery packs, I will start checking the charge remaining.  Lowes has a sale on Dewalt battery packs right now, so I will probably buy some more.  Also, I will make the checks you recommended above for each of the cells and see if there are any bad cells.  Maybe I can cannibalize some good cells from the 3 battery packs and end up with 1 or maybe 2 completely good battery packs.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, folks, I haven't posted on here in awhile, so I thought I would provide an update.  (Since my last post, I had been stalking @Mike CHS and just finished a few minutes ago.)

We visited family over Christmas, and again the weekend before New Year's (New Year's Day is my younger sister's birthday).  Just before the end of the year, we signed a 5 year lease on our pasture land.  The man who leased the land will be responsible for all improvements (lime, fertilizer, weed killer, etc.).  I provided him the soil reports I got earlier.

We haven't done anything around the farm.  With this really cool, albeit wet, weather we have been having, I have been trying to talk myself into getting out and cutting down the vines, shrubs, and small trees around the edge of the pasture.  But after seeing just how quickly the power company was able to trim the edge of the woods (they did in 2 days what would have taken us 2 months to do), I'm not all that eager to get out there and do it the way we were doing it.

When my Beautiful Gal and I were clearing the brush and trees from around the dam of the pond, I happened to watch a YouTube video on the "Outdoors with the Morgans" channel which showed the guy (I can't remember his first name) using a grapple on a tractor.  I was amazed by how much he got done using that thing.  I don't think I had even bought a tractor at that point, but we stopped working on the pond for awhile while I researched tractors and grapples.  We finally decided to continue on the pond before I was able to find a tractor and have a 3rd function valve and grapple installed, so it did not help any with the pond, but ever since I got that grapple I am so glad I did.  I can no longer imagine trying to clear brush without it.

So given my experience with the grapple, I wondered if maybe there was something I could find that would do the job easier and faster at a reasonable price.  I found the product named BrushShark that looked impressive (see http://brushshark.com/), but the $5,000+ price point had me going OUCH!  (That is what my 3rd function valve and grapple combined cost.)  So I looked into perhaps renting a skid steer with a mulching attachment would cost.  The closest one I could find was in Longview, TX (just under 200 miles away) and the cheapest one there was over $5,000 a week!  Another OUCH!  So, do you folks know of anyone who has rented or bought any brush clearing equipment that would clear brush and small trees (besides a rotary mower) that I could use around the edge of my pasture, as well as for cutting paths through the woods?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

One thing I forgot to mention above is that I am thinking of getting goats to clear out the vines and other shrubs south of the shop.  I am thinking of getting 5 strand electric fencing, although if there is better electric fencing for goats, I'd surely like to know about it.  I am considering not getting any LGDs, at least not right away.  But I have a feeling that I am asking for trouble from predators if I don't have any LGDs.  What do you folks think?


----------



## Mike CHS

Prices over your way seem high compared to here.  I've used a neighbors dozer for a couple of areas and I have hired a few hours work from a gent that has equipment that can handle the job in a couple of hours versus weeks doing it by hand.  We can hire them for a couple of hours at a time as long as they can schedule their time around other jobs they are doing in our area.  They charged us $125 an hour last year when they were out. They will only pile it up at that price and I finished up cutting and burning.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Well, folks, I haven't posted on here in awhile, so I thought I would provide an update.  (Since my last post, I had been stalking @Mike CHS and just finished a few minutes ago.)
> 
> We visited family over Christmas, and again the weekend before New Year's (New Year's Day is my younger sister's birthday).  Just before the end of the year, we signed a 5 year lease on our pasture land.  The man who leased the land will be responsible for all improvements (lime, fertilizer, weed killer, etc.).  I provided him the soil reports I got earlier.
> 
> We haven't done anything around the farm.  With this really cool, albeit wet, weather we have been having, I have been trying to talk myself into getting out and cutting down the vines, shrubs, and small trees around the edge of the pasture.  But after seeing just how quickly the power company was able to trim the edge of the woods (they did in 2 days what would have taken us 2 months to do), I'm not all that eager to get out there and do it the way we were doing it.
> 
> When my Beautiful Gal and I were clearing the brush and trees from around the dam of the pond, I happened to watch a YouTube video on the "Outdoors with the Morgans" channel which showed the guy (I can't remember his first name) using a grapple on a tractor.  I was amazed by how much he got done using that thing.  I don't think I had even bought a tractor at that point, but we stopped working on the pond for awhile while I researched tractors and grapples.  We finally decided to continue on the pond before I was able to find a tractor and have a 3rd function valve and grapple installed, so it did not help any with the pond, but ever since I got that grapple I am so glad I did.  I can no longer imagine trying to clear brush without it.
> 
> So given my experience with the grapple, I wondered if maybe there was something I could find that would do the job easier and faster at a reasonable price.  I found the product named BrushShark that looked impressive (see http://brushshark.com/), but the $5,000+ price point had me going OUCH!  (That is what my 3rd function valve and grapple combined cost.)  So I looked into perhaps renting a skid steer with a mulching attachment would cost.  The closest one I could find was in Longview, TX (just under 200 miles away) and the cheapest one there was over $5,000 a week!  Another OUCH!  So, do you folks know of anyone who has rented or bought any brush clearing equipment that would clear brush and small trees (besides a rotary mower) that I could use around the edge of my pasture, as well as for cutting paths through the woods?
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie




Some times, depending on where you live...it is cheaper in the long run to hire someone to do the major clearing, and just buy the needed eqipment to keep up small regrowth...shouldn't  cost you anything for a estimate. ....


----------



## B&B Happy goats

If your getting goats for clearing only, i would buy wethers and buy a meat breed if you decide you want to eat them...if  eating them is not of interest, i would look for inexpensive  common breed for your area and still buy only wethers. I don't  mind horned goats, it gives them some defence within the herd...or you may look for someone who would like to USE the area for their goats, you provide fencing  and water, they provide extra feed and written agreement between you two. As to who is responsible  for what....you have lots of options


----------



## Rammy

Id opt to hire someone to do it also. Will save you time, money, and you wont get hurt. Plus, you wont have to pay to maintain all this equipment. Id let someone else drop 5 grand out of thier pocket instead of depleting my retirement nest egg.


----------



## farmerjan

I don't know about all the "normal" goat people on here.  You are looking at very well taken care of, maybe "pampered" a bit?     But 5 strands of electric will not keep most of the goats I know in.  Especially if you are going for some common "brush goat".  Better to go with something like Premier electrified netting.  It is portable, you can move it around to where you need to get a section cleared, it is electric to keep predators out, and  it will not really break the bank.  It's not cheap cheap, but it will make the keeping of the animals alot more safe as far as being contained goes.  You could get 2 rolls, and enclose a decent size area, and then when they are really getting it eaten down, move them.  Take the bushhog, make a path around a section, then fence it with the netting and charger, and let them go to town on it.  
I am assuming that you were not able to find anyone that rents out goats, or does brush clearing with them, in your area?


----------



## greybeard

Not enough information........
What diameter and what type vegetation is the majority of the stuff you want to get rid of mechanically?


I can tell you from experience, that any tractor with front loader attachment for clearing is going to be somewhat "awkward" and labor intensive. The turn radius is going to be problematic if there are many relatively large trees in the mix, and you need to ensure sure your tractor's hydraulics can produce a high enough flow rate to run a brush shark or mulcher.
flow needs to be 5 GPM to 30 GPM, tho I believe the lower end will be slower than Moses walking to the Promised Land.
Hydraulic PSI Required: 2000 PSI to 3000 PSI continuous.

I never expect anyone to charge less hourly rate than what the shop hourly repair rate is. 

If it's small stuff, maybe look in to something called a "Ratchet Rake" .
I've never used on.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

farmerjan said:


> Better to go with something like Premier electrified netting. It is portable, you can move it around to where you need to get a section cleared, it is electric to keep predators out, and it will not really break the bank.



Interesting.  I will definitely check into the electrified netting.



farmerjan said:


> I am assuming that you were not able to find anyone that rents out goats, or does brush clearing with them, in your area?



That's right.  I never was able to locate anyone who rented goats.



greybeard said:


> What diameter and what type vegetation is the majority of the stuff you want to get rid of mechanically?



Most of it is small brush (< 1" diameter) so the shredder can easily cut it.  But there are some small to medium sized trees (1" .. 4" diameter) that also need removing.  These size trees occur in different bunches around the edge of the pastures.  They occur often enough that make their manual removal with the chain saw and reciprocating saw slow-going.



greybeard said:


> flow needs to be 5 GPM to 30 GPM... Hydraulic PSI Required: 2000 PSI to 3000 PSI continuous.



My owner manual says that the flow is 12 GPM.  It does not specify the hydraulic pressure but does say the safety relief valve is set to 2490 PSI.

I will continue to look for attachments that may work on my tractor.  I did watch the videos for the ratchet rake -- thank you for those -- and may consider that, although my grapple will already do a lot of that.

Thanks to all for your wonderful suggestions.  I can tell my Beautiful Gal that I am getting the professional help she often tells me I need! 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I can tell my Beautiful Gal that I am getting the professional help..


I wouldn't go that far..........the help you are getting here from me is usually worth exactly what it cost.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

@DuckLady, @elevan, @Nifty, @Sumi, and @Support,

I need some help in understanding why I am not getting notified when certain members whom I follow post on BYH.  For example, among the folks I follow are Miss @Baymule, Miss @farmerjan, Mr. @greybeard, and Miss @Mini Horses.  I follow those folks because they almost always have something quite educational to say, and in Miss @Baymule's case, quite funny!  Yet while looking for something else, I stumbled upon a thread, "Farmerjan's journal - Weather", where all four of those folks, as well as others, had posted.  As I read through it, I was quite pleased with what I learned, but quite disappointed that I had not been notified.

So my question is this: is it something I am doing wrong -- maybe my Senile Texas Aggie I/Q getting in the way -- or does the "Follow member" feature not include alerts?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Rammy

When you find a thread you want to follow, do you hit the watch thread button in the upper right corner? When you do, you get the option of choosing to get email notifications, or just to follow without notifications. I get alerts when I come to the forum. I used to have the emails, but got so many, I changed it to just the alerts. Hope this helps.


----------



## Rammy

P. S. Your not following me??????? Im so hurt......just kidding ....


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Rammy,

Yes, I do watch threads.  I currently watch many of the journals that I have read.  But I don't know of an easy, reliable way to learn about the existence of a new thread by one of these folks that I try to follow.  I noticed that you, Mr. @Latestarter, and others whom I also follow had learned of the thread's existence, so I must be doing something wrong.  Hopefully, the administrators will show me what it is.  Thanks for your help.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Rammy said:


> P. S. Your not following me??????? Im so hurt......just kidding ....



I do try to read all of your posts, and because you have your own journal, which I watch, then I get notified.  If you didn't have a farm journal, then, yes, I would follow you, but as you have seen with how poorly it worked for the others, I would not be notified of your posts, either!


----------



## CntryBoy777

Something else that ya may wish to do is to "watch" a forum....that way whenever a new thread is started in that forum ya will get notified of it. That way ya can be aware of any threads that may be started by those that ya wish to follow.....


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## Latestarter

STA, the journal you originally posted about started as a regular thread by Jan, and she later turned it into a/her journal. If she started it before you followed her, that may be why you weren't alerted. If you post to a thread, it will automatically "check the box" to follow that thread. It will NOT do this by simply clicking "like" within the thread to a post.

I have had issues with notifications in a variety of ways. I have addressed the issue in a quite simplistic manner. When I sign on the first place I look is top right where is says Alerts:




If it says more than 25, I go to step 2 below.

Step 1: If you hover over this it will alert you (drop down showing threads) to any new posts in threads you are following. It ONLY alerts on the first new post in each thread, so there could be multiple posts to a particular thread. Once you hover over this and the post drop down appears, it clears the bucket and assumes you've looked at all of them. If further new posts are made to a thread that you have NOT looked at, and has rolled off, it seems it will no longer alert you there as you never went and read the post it alerted you to in the first instance. (hope that makes sense). The maximum number of threads/posts it can display is 25 so if there are more than 25, the oldest ones will "roll off" the bottom of the list and you'll never see them. If you actually click on the alerts it will open a new window that displays all your alerts, 30 to a page. This is what I do if I initially saw there were 25 or more.  This is what you'll see:



Step 2: If there are a lot of folks online when I first open this window, and there were more than 30 alerts, I open page 2 of the alerts in a new tab and then start reviewing on page 2 at the oldest alert. So if there were 45 alerts, I would count down 15 alerts on page 2 and click to open that alert in a new window and keep doing that as I move through the alerts. Once I've finished viewing all alerts on page two, I close that tab and start reviewing the alerts on page 1, oldest (bottom) first. This way if new alerts happen while I'm catching up, they don't affect the alerts that were there when I first started and they will be added and show up up top on the right where I showed in the first pic, but will not change/alter/delete/roll-move the existing alerts I started with in the now opened tabs. As I progress through, if I see an alert to a thread I had already opened and read, I just skip it as I will have already read the most current posts to that thread when I opened it previously.

If you've ever checked the box to "mark all threads/forums as read" (see #1 in pic below) it will "reset" alerts and if a new post is added, it should then alert you to it if you're following that thread. Of course this will also make it impossible to see threads you HAVEN'T already been to ("New"/unread) from days/weeks/months ago as you are now starting fresh and the site considers nothing preexisting as "new" any longer. You told the site it was already read. Going forward however, if a new thread is created, it WILL show this to you by bolding the forum heading in the list of forums on the main page (see #2 vice un-bolded #3 in pic below).




For new threads there is a selection button near the top on the left.



If you click it, it will open a new window with all new posts in threads you are following as well as those you are not following (yet).



ETA There is also a "New Threads" button over on the right side under forum statistics. This will only show you the most recent 5 new threads. It will make no difference if you've read them, posted to them, or not. If there are more than 5, they will have rolled off the bottom and you won't know of them from looking here.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

That was impressive  latestarter , thank you


----------



## greybeard

Latestarter said:


> There is also a "New Threads" button over on the right side under forum statistics. This will only show you the most recent 5 new threads. It will make no difference if you've read them, posted to them, or not. If there are more than 5, they will have rolled off the bottom and you won't know of them from looking here.


A FYI..
This, curiously enough,  is the usual way it works, but is not always the case. I have often logged on to see as many as a dozen "New Threads" listed there, which I suspect is caused by the lag between the time they were posted and when the board's software  saves what is happening on the board. Look again a few moments later, and there will be only 5 listed.


(Very few bulletin boards update in real time..you will notice it sometimes when you are replying to a message and you change pages mid-reply. When you go back to your reply, sometimes your partially completed text is there, sometimes not. It all depends whether the board's software has triggered it's scheduled "save' function or not and how long you were away from the reply box. Once the board's automatic 'save' function has happened, any unfinished/un-posted reply will be there the next time you open that thread to reply.)


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, all, for your input.  I guess I will simply have to manually watch new threads and posts, as I have had the Four Horsemen (women?) on my follow list since shortly after I joined.  I know about the "Alerts" and use that to catch up, but have never gotten any alerts for those folks on my "follow" list.

Regarding


greybeard said:


> I wouldn't go that far..........the help you are getting here from me is usually worth exactly what it cost.



I meant to respond to this earlier, but wanted to go do some clearing (more below).  Mr @greybeard, sir, I value your commentary immensely.  I may not always agree with it, but I always give some thought to what you say when I do not.  That is why you, along with Miss @Baymule, Miss @farmerjan, and Miss @Mini Horses, are on my "follow" list, although that function, sadly, doesn't appear to be working.

Now as to what I have been doing the past two days.  Yesterday, even though it was sunny, we did not work outside.  Instead, we went down to the pond to feed the fish.  They had not been feeding lately, but yesterday they decided to eat the bread we fed them (look closely in the water near the bread):


This morning we enjoyed watching the sunrise:
 

After I finished posting on BYH this morning, I went out and started working on the brush south of the shop.  I decided to start on the west side of the area and work my way east.  I discovered a fallen part of the top of a large oak tree.
 
I am not certain how I should remove the fallen part.  I have enough chain to reach from the base part of the broken top to the tractor in the pasture, so I am thinking of wrapping the chain around the base part of the broken top and hooking the other end to the tractor and try pulling it out.  But the way the limbs on the broken part of the tree are oriented, I fear they will get tangled in the other trees and not come out.  (This situation reminds me of the Texas Aggie joke about the two deer hunters -- see below.)  So what do you folks advise?

Senile Texas Aggie

Two Texas Aggies were deer hunting and managed to kill a large buck.  They were dragging the buck by the antlers toward their truck, and having a lot of trouble because of the antlers getting tangled in the brush.  Another hunter came along and suggested that they drag the buck by the hind legs.  When they tried it, it worked!  After awhile one hunter said to the other, "Boy, that was a great idea that other hunter had to drag the deer by the hind legs!"  The other hunter replied, "Yeah, it was, but we sure are sure getting a long way from the truck!"


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Silly Aggies - funny stuff, lol!


----------



## Bruce

greybeard said:


> If it's small stuff, maybe look in to something called a "Ratchet Rake" .


Tractor Time with Tim has this:
Heavy Hitch Toothbar https://heavyhitch.com/product/bucket-tooth-bar-clamp-on-sub-compact-tractor/
You would have to call and ask if they have a model that would work with your tractor.





Seems to dig out small trees and scrub stuff pretty well with his 25 HP Deere 1025R


----------



## Latestarter

I would chain saw some of the limbs off the top first to eliminate a lot of possible snags. I would then most likely cut the central tree top trunk about 1/2 way up from where it's presently on the ground. This will then make it easier to get a chain around it and pull it out. You don't have a fireplace, but that would provide me a lot of wood for my wood stove/furnace. Have you considered possibly cutting some of this stuff to firewood that you could sell via Craig's list? You could sell a full cord for ~$200-250 or a pick up truck load for $75 (level w/bed)-150 (stacked above bed level). Might be a way to make a little money on the side.


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> After I finished posting on BYH this morning, I went out and started working on the brush south of the shop. I decided to start on the west side of the area and work my way east. I discovered a fallen part of the top of a large oak tree.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I am not certain how I should remove the fallen part. I have enough chain to reach from the base part of the broken top to the tractor in the pasture, so I am thinking of wrapping the chain around the base part of the broken top and hooking the other end to the tractor and try pulling it out. But the way the limbs on the broken part of the tree are oriented, I fear they will get tangled in the other trees and not come out.



I wouldn't know any thing about that kind of problem,,,

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/coffee-anyone.35880/page-364#post-566246

It's a spider, just cut it's legs off.





Cleaned both of these up with just a chainsaw and a 35hp open cab tractor (no FEL) with a landscape rake.


----------



## Latestarter

Actually, Something you mentioned earlier had me thinking along the lines of something I'd love to do here... With all the brush and small trees you're cutting, if you had a chipper/shredder, you could make a LOT of "mulch" to use around your property. If I had a tractor I'd love to have something like this. I always have limbs, branches, brush, saplings, etc. and if I could use them this way, I wouldn't have to burn them.




https://www.woodmaxx.com/WoodMaxx_8_PTO_Wood_Chipper_Hydraulic_Feed_p/wm-8h.htm
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/269282-wallenstein-bx42-vs-bx62.html

I'd love to use the resulting chipped material to garden along these lines:


----------



## greybeard

Contact the local power company. Their line maintenance crews will give you all the chips you want for free and you won't have to pick up a single branch or buy a chipper..


----------



## Nifty

Wow @Latestarter


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Latestarter said:


> Have you considered possibly cutting some of this stuff to firewood that you could sell via Craig's list?



I have not thought of that.  I think I need to do a bit of research to see how much wood brings here near Booneville.  Thanks for the suggestion.



Latestarter said:


> if you had a chipper/shredder, you could make a LOT of "mulch" to use around your property.





greybeard said:


> Contact the local power company. Their line maintenance crews will give you all the chips you want for free and you won't have to pick up a single branch or buy a chipper..



Actually, I did contact the local power company.  They said that they would send someone out.  By pure coincidence they were clearing the power lines in this area and the next day someone stopped by and said they were here to clear the power lines on our property.  I asked them about the mulch and they said they would leave us the mulch.  He also said that it was always feast or famine regarding mulch -- some days they could not handle all of the requests, and other days they could not give the stuff away.  I told them that I would take all they wanted to give away.  They did leave a nice pile of it from having cleared the brush and trees from the power lines from our property.  After a few more days, they had not left any more.  So I called the power company again and requested more mulch.  They said they would send someone over.  They never showed up, even though I left the gate open for a couple of more weeks, hoping they would show up.  So the power company hasn't been any help.

I may look into getting a mulcher for the smaller stuff, and seeing if I can cut the larger wood into firewood for sale.

I'll let everyone one what ends up happening.  Thanks, again for all of your help.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Latestarter

greybeard said:


> ...all the chips you want for free and you won't have to pick up a single branch


 Ummm yeah but... Unlike you, I like and have plenty of trees all over my property and as a result, I would STILL have to pick/clean up branches. Right now I pile and burn them 2-3 times a year. With a chipper I could put them to better use.


----------



## greybeard

Latestarter said:


> Ummm yeah but... Unlike you, I like and have plenty of trees all over my property and as a result, I would STILL have to pick/clean up branches. Right now I pile and burn them 2-3 times a year. With a chipper I could put them to better use.


true but don't forget about the importance of potash for good soil. (The P in NPK)  If your soil needs more potash, burning limbs can provide it.


----------



## RollingAcres

Rammy said:


> P. S. Your not following me??????? Im so hurt......just kidding ....


He's stalking you, isn't that enough? Now you want him to follow you too? Geesh!


----------



## Rammy

RollingAcres said:


> He's stalking you, isn't that enough? Now you want him to follow you too? Geesh!


I saw a truck pulling a trailer today that said Rolling Acres Farm. Made me think of you! They named thier farm after you! How cool.
Yeah, I know STA is stalking me, but its kind if like Stockholm Syndrome...


----------



## RollingAcres

Rammy said:


> I saw a truck pulling a trailer today that said Rolling Acres Farm. Made me think of you! They named thier farm after you! How cool.
> Yeah, I know STA is stalking me, but its kind if like Stockholm Syndrome...


Dang it! There goes the idea of using that name when I have a real farm! LOL
DH wants to call our place "Windy Acres" but there's a farm down the road from us called "Wild Wind Acres" so, I wanted to stay away from anything "wind".


----------



## Rammy

RollingAcres said:


> Dang it! There goes the idea of using that name when I have a real farm! LOL
> DH wants to call our place "Windy Acres" but there's a farm down the road from us called "Wild Wind Acres" so, I wanted to stay away from anything "wind".


Considering that the RA,farm is in Tn I dont think it would be a problem. You could call it Rolling On Acres? Or Rolling Downhill and Picking up Speed Acres? Just a thought.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Rammy said:


> Yeah, I know STA is stalking me, but its kind if like Stockholm Syndrome...



Don't worry, Miss @Rammy, while you are not the only one I have stalked, you were among my favorites.   (But then, so was Miss @RollingAcres !)

Well, an update on the fun with the tree.  My first attempt was to see if I could simply pull it out with the tractor towards the pasture.  All I managed to do with churn up the ground.  I thought I heard the tree laughing at me.  Tree - 1, STA - 0.

Then I tried cutting off a lot of the limbs.  While I did get the limbs not sticking in the ground, there was a couple that I was unable to reach, or where, if I was successful in getting the tree down, I feared it would fall on me.  Tree - 2, STA - 0.

Then I tried pushing the top limb with the grapple, hoping that it would cause the tree to move and then fall.  The top limb broke off where I was pushing it with the grapple.  Tree 3, STA - 0.

So here is what the tree top looks like now.  You can see the deep tractor ruts I dug trying to move the tree with the tractor pulling on the chain:

 

After failing to move the tree, I decided to finish cutting the small and medium size trees next to the pasture south of the tree (to the right in the picture).  Here is what it looked like when I finished.  Note all of the tractor ruts in the pasture.  There were none there before I started:
 

Tomorrow I plan to try to get the tractor into the woods enough to pull the tree to the right (south) in hopes that it will fall and then I can more easily cut the limbs once the tree is on the ground.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Latestarter

RollingAcres said:


> DH wants to call our place "Windy Acres" but there's a farm down the road from us called "Wild Wind Acres" so, I wanted to stay away from anything "wind".


 Well, as long as you don't go with Breaking Wind Acres...


----------



## Rammy

Latestarter said:


> Well, as long as you don't go with Breaking Wind Acres...


 Thats a good one!


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Tomorrow I plan to try to get the tractor into the woods enough to pull the tree to the right (south) in hopes that it will fall and then I can more easily cut the limbs once the tree is on the ground.


On a 4wd tractor, over 60% of your traction is from the rear wheels. On a 2 wd, it's all  from the rear of course. Trying to use FEL in either case reduces the traction you have in the rear wheels resulting in rear wheel slip.
Connect the chain as low as possible out on the end of the fallen tree.
Tie the other end of the chain as high as you can on whatever implement you have on the BACK of the tractor.
Tie chain where the arrow points


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Yesterday, we tackled pulling down the tree limb again.  After looking things over and seeing that we would need to cut down many more trees than I initially thought to pull the tree with the tractor directly to the south, I decided to try to pull the tree with the tractor toward the southwest, in a new area of the pasture that wasn't wet and muddy.  I hooked up the chain at the point where Mr. @greybeard recommended, and pulled in that direction.  The tractor started spinning its tires.  Rats!  Tree - 4, STA - 0.

Then I tried pulling the tree with a come-along hooked to a big tree to the south and the chain in the same position.  Once the slack got out of the chain and cable, I simply did not have the arm strength to move the tree.  Tree - 5, STA - 0.

I started putting on my chainsaw gear, thinking I simply was going to have to cut the limbs that touched the ground.  I was dreading doing that, as I could see the tree rolling suddenly and falling on me, or if it twisted while falling, I could see the bigg limb sticking up high might swing around and whack me good.  But my Beautiful Gal came up with a better idea.  She recommended that instead of pulling, I could push with the grapple from the north end.  After looking to see how many trees we would need to cut down, it turned out to be only 3 relatively small ones.  Once we got the small trees cut, I came in with the tractor and used the grapple to push on the limb that was sticking up high.  It worked!  Tree 5, STA 6!


Now I need a bit of advice.  My chain saw is cutting in an unusual way.  It likes to curve up as I cut a tree.  If I try to cut straight and level, it seems not to cut much at all, but if I allow it to curve up as I cut, it cuts much better:


What would cause that?  Is it the dummy that's holding the chain saw?  Is it the way I have been sharpening the chain?  (Until yesterday, I had always sharpened it from the side of the chain where the power head was closer to me, which is the side of the chain that cuts better.)  Or is it something else?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## B&B Happy goats

STA, I can't  offer you a answer, but just wanted to tell you how much you get me laughing with your adventures with the trees and tractor.....the score keeping  is way too funny. Good luck fighting the Forrest


----------



## Rammy

Run Forrest Run!!


----------



## greybeard

You should sharpen it from both sides.
Yes, your saw cuts at an angle because of the way it is (or is not) sharpened.
http://www.madsens1.com/bnc_cut_pull.htm


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> It worked! Tree 5, STA 6!


Hmm, interesting math. From Tree 5, STA 0 to Tree 5, STA 6. You won the war in the end but I think it won more battles.

In addition to @greybeards post, are you also filing in only one direction? Back and forth will dull the tooth.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> You won the war in the end but I think it won more battles.



That is true, Mr. Bruce, sir!  I wasn't sure how to handle that in the score keeping.

Regarding the saw chain, I will start sharpening from both sides and see if that helps.

Yesterday my Beautiful Gal and I decided to build a trail starting at the storage building heading south.  Eventually we plan to extend the trail to join up with another trail we plan on cutting from the western end of the southern improved pasture to the trail that goes to the deer stand.  For now, though, she wanted a small area to put chairs or a bench to enjoy sitting in the tall pines there.  It didn't take long to cut down all of the trees with the chain saw and reciprocating saw.  The trees were wide enough to enter the trail with the grapple and tractor.  But because there is a small stream immediately where the trail enters the woods, the tractor soon had deep ruts in the mud so bad that I could barely get through in the tractor.  Here is what it looked like at this point:

 

I decided to remove the grapple and try to dig the mud out with the bucket.  I decided to start on the downstream side because I reasoned that if I made it easy for the water to flow out, then I would be able to get more mud out without the water making it worse.  Unfortunately I hadn't thought about roots being there.  Those roots made it hard for me to dig, which then caused the tractor tires to spin, making the ruts deeper.  After trying to scoop out mud from different places and running into the same problems, I decided to give up on using the bucket.  My Beautiful Gal and I then got into the ankle deep mud and dug out the roots enough to get the water flowing better.  But by the time we finished with that, we both decided we had enough work for the day.

I took the tractor to just outside the shop to wash it off, as it was covered in mud.  At first I used the water hose alone, but the mud laughed at me and continued to stick to the bucket and the sides of the tractor.  So then I got out the power washer and went to work with that.  What a difference!  The mud came off of the bucket quickly.  Then I washed the left side of the tractor and the inside portion of the right front tractor wheel.  I started to the other side.  Suddenly, WHAM!  I spun around, fell on my face on the grass, stunned.  After a few moments, as I started thinking more clearly, I realized what had happened -- I had run head-on into the bucket!    I started laughing at my own stupidity!  After another moment, I got up, and felt blood running down my face.  So I staggered to the restroom in the shop and washed my face and wiped my face and head with paper towels.  After a moment or two, the blood slowed down enough that I could go out and finish washing the tractor and put it up.  Bucket - 1, STA - 0.

I think I may need to do like the character B.D. in the comic strip _Doonesberry_ and start wearing a footbal helmet all of the time!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Oh goodness - glad you're mostly ok!


----------



## Mike CHS

If it's any consolation, you aren't the first person on here to smack into a bucket.  I did once shortly after getting my tractor and since then the bucket is raised high enough to walk under it or on the ground before the tractor gets turned off.


----------



## Rammy

Poor STA!! You sure you want to be a farmer?


----------



## CntryBoy777

My mom would've asked ya if it knocked any sense into ya....then, asked if ya was okay?.....


----------



## B&B Happy goats

You are so funny STA....all I can picture is the old tv show GREEN ACRES......glad you didn't  need stiches,  perhaps a helmet is in order ????


----------



## Rammy

Maybe a full body suit of armor?


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> It didn't take long to cut down all of the trees


My work here is done.....

When you walked into the bucket, was the 1st thing you did,... to look around and see if anyone saw you do it?


----------



## RollingAcres

frustratedearthmother said:


> Oh goodness - glad you're mostly ok!


He's mostly ok, his ego might have gotten hurt a little. 



greybeard said:


> When you walked into the bucket, was the 1st thing you did,... to look around and see if anyone saw you do it?


 I bet you he did!


----------



## Latestarter

I can identify with you there STA... I believe I mentioned in my journal about walking into a 12' 2x4 sticking out the back end of my pickup... @Baymule was a witness to that little fiasco. Didn't put me on the ground, but was for sure a wake up and pay attention kinda moment. Hope the damage wasn't too substantial... A steel FEL bucket can do a lot more damage than a 2x4.


----------



## farmerjan

How many times have we walked into the trailer hitch on the truck...OUCH to the shins, knees, legs.... and ever since my accident in 1989 and the damage I did to my head, I have no real depth perception so I am constantly walking into things as I don't perceive them as being "close"  or just don't see them.  Anyone who says they have never done it are not telling the whole story....
Glad you suffered only "minor" damage.


----------



## RollingAcres

farmerjan said:


> How many times have we walked into the trailer hitch on the truck...OUCH to the shins, knees, legs



Yup!


----------



## greybeard

When working around a FEL bucket, the same rule applies to it as to an overhead or roll up door. "All the way up or all the way down".

(and yes, I've banged my shin on a receiver hitch more times than I can count.)


----------



## Bruce

Poor STA. Might be worthy of a Zinger award. I don't think I've whacked my head on any tractor parts (yet) but I've hit the hood over the cookstove on well more than one occasion. 

DD2 walked right into the bale spear on the tractor at the farm where we get our potatoes and ground beef. 3rd in line but somehow didn't walk around like the prior 2 people. Made a nasty and long lasting bruise.


----------



## Latestarter

farmerjan said:


> and ever since my accident in 1989 and the damage I did to my head, I have no real depth perception so I am constantly walking into things as _I don't perceive them as being "close" or just don't see them._


  YIKES!!!   And you're out driving on the public roads?     Be safe!!!


----------



## RollingAcres

Bruce said:


> I don't think I've whacked my head on any tractor parts (yet)


Now that you just jinxed yourself saying that, you'll be hitting your head on your tractor parts very soon.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

greybeard said:


> was the 1st thing you did,... to look around and see if anyone saw you do it?



No.  It is just my Beautiful Gal and I here on the farm and I knew she had already gone into the house to take a shower.  Once I finished washing the tractor and put it into the shop and went into the house, when my Beautiful Gal saw the gash on my head, she asked what happened.  When I told her, she just slowly shook her head.



farmerjan said:


> and ever since my accident in 1989 and the damage I did to my head, I have no real depth perception so I am constantly walking into things as I don't perceive them as being "close" or just don't see them.



Miss @farmerjan, if you have told us about the accident before, I don't remember it.  Would you please share with me, one of your biggest fans, exactly what happened?


Latestarter said:


> YIKES!!!  And you're out driving on the public roads?   Be safe!!!



I'll bet that Miss @farmerjan on her worst days is safer than I am on my best days! 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I'll bet that Miss @farmerjan on her worst days is safer than I am on my best days!



And you want to help Fred move across states?


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

RollingAcres said:


> And you want to help Fred move across states?



Yep.  I figured Fred has had a boring life lately, so my driving should help him catch on his prayer life!


----------



## frustratedearthmother




----------



## RollingAcres




----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Yep.  I figured Fred has had a boring life lately, so my driving should help him catch on his prayer life!


I think he's doing OK on that part.



farmerjan said:


> ever since my accident in 1989 and the damage I did to my head, I have no real depth perception so I am constantly walking into things as I don't perceive them as being "close" or just don't see them.


Curious. I've never had depth perception and learned WAY young to compensate. Maybe you need to make a conscious effort to learn compensating techniques. I'm not even sure I could tell you what they are since I "just do them". I can tell you one is I put my hand in front of me a bit if I am approaching something. 

... And before anyone gets smart, the reason I hit my head on the stove hood is because I don't have eyes on the top of my head! I'm looking at what is on the stove and not thinking about where the hood is relative to my head.


----------



## RollingAcres

Bruce said:


> And before anyone gets smart, the reason I hit my head on the stove hood is because I don't have eyes on the top of my head! I'm looking at what is on the stove and not thinking about where the hood is relative to my head.



I'm not tall enough to hit my head on the stove hood.


----------



## Bruce

No one else in my house is either.


----------



## Latestarter

Thanks for all the chuckles folks. Some funny posts above.


----------



## farmerjan

Hey, it's not a big deal.  I was in a truck wreck in 1989.  Hit my head on the rearview mirror, yes I was wearing a seatbelt,  put a hole in my skull big enough to put an egg in they said, took a good part of my scalp off, fractured my C-2 vertebrae, badly smashed my left middle finger, badly cut my right hand as it hit the pass window that broke and severed the tendon that controls the ring finger.  Had 70 stitches to put my scalp back together and the skull healed.  They were going to put a plate in it, but were so surprised that the bone knitted, so decided not to.  It does have an indentation in it.

The right hand had several operations.  They did a skin graft to cover the exposed wrist bone, then a balloon under the skin to stretch it, then took out the graft to sew healthy skin back together.... and eventually tied the pinky tendon into the ring finger.  Tendons are like rubber bands and the part that "snapped" back up into my arm could not be "pulled back down" so they did the tie-in so I would have functional use of the pinky.  I got wrote up in some medical journal because it had not been done before like that.  I did alot of therapy.  Said I would get 50-60% functional use back and that the pinky would never move independent of the ring finger.  Well, I "showed 'em"  because I wound up with nearly 90% functional use, and I can make the pinky raise up a bit if I sit and concentrate which they said would be impossible.  I don't have full strength in that hand but 99% of people would never know if I didn't tell them.
I wore a "Philadelphia collar" for several months while the C-2 fracture healed.  Wanted to put a "halo" on, but there wasn't enough "intact" bone on the right side of my skull due to the "hole in my head";  nothing to screw it into.  So they said since I had made it that far and had all movement, that the collar would be the next best thing.... but I was VERY RELIGIOUS about wearing it except for the shower and I was very careful in the shower;  so I didn't move my neck wrong and cause any movement that would paralyze me.  Said if I had moved wrong, when they came to extract me, that I could have been paralyzed from the neck down and been on an iron lung to breathe for me.  Thank God that I kept telling the rescue people not to move my neck cuz it hurt. 
The left middle finger had to be reset and it never healed perfectly but it works.  That's all I cared about.  I wore splints on both hands for months.  Could use the thumb and 1st finger on the right hand.  The thumb and pinky on the left hand.  It was interesting to learn to do stuff like cut meat and dress myself...
They couldn't figure out why my bones healed so well, and I kept telling them it was because I was a milk drinker and all that calcium in my dense bones was the result.  I have had very dense bones according to past tests. 

The upshot of the accident and head trauma, is that on that side I don't have the "intuition" or "sense" that something is close to my head.  I have hit it on countless open cabinet doors and such, not realizing they are as close as they are. You know, like you duck when you sense you are about to hit it on something?   I have no trouble with seeing, and my depth perception like that is fine.  I have no trouble backing the tractor up to the  farm equipment to be hooked up, as long as I can see it.  I use the side mirrors for driving/backing up the trucks and trailers.  It's just the close-up,  like STA walking into the bucket.  I would do that and not realize I was that close until "CONK"......
I do have some memory loss, and I've learned to live with it.  Can't recall names alot of times.... and parts of my son's childhood are "not there" but he manages to remind me of what he "wants me to remember" !!!!!  Little things... I don't sweat it.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> DD2 walked right into the bale spear on the tractor ... 3rd in line but somehow didn't walk around like the prior 2 people


I knew a guy that walked into the pointy end of one..poked a nice big hole in his belly too.. (which is what I first thought happened to the guy that walked into my house shot Christmas Eve..)


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Poor STA. Might be worthy of a Zinger award.



Mr. @Bruce, sir, it most definitely is.  I hereby award myself a Zinger™ award!



Bruce said:


> Curious. I've never had depth perception and learned WAY young to compensate.



I have that problem as well.  I have no frontal vision in my right eye, although I have peripheral vision.  Neither did my dad in his right eye, nor did his dad in his right eye -- obviously a genetic defect.  It turns out that it is a brain issue, rather than an eye issue.  So I have to compensate for my lack of depth perception.  But my whamming my head into the bucket wasn't a depth perception problem -- it was an act of stupidity problem!  See, it is a brain issue!



farmerjan said:


> Hey, it's not a big deal.



Miss @farmerjan,

Wow!  What you went through WAS a big deal!  I am glad you have recovered so well.  Thank you for sharing with us.  

Yesterday I decided to get some drainage pipe.  I went to ACE hardware in Booneville, but they didn't have what I was looking for, so I drove the 35 miles to Lowe's in Ft. Smith.  They happened to have the Dewalt 4Ah batteries on sale, so I bought 2 2-packs (all they had on display).  I bought 2 10ft 4" schedule 40 drain pipes (hoping that, once buried, they will be strong enough to support the tractor on the trail going into the woods), as well as 100ft 4" solid flexpipe for use in different places.  By the time I got back it was late enough not to go work on the trail, so we are waiting for the rain to finish some time after tomorrow and then go play in the mud again!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

farmerjan said:


> Hey, it's not a big deal.


OK, I read all of that. And I guess it is no big deal if you say so but


----------



## Baymule

Suddenly, WHAM! I spun around, fell on my face on the grass, stunned. After a few moments, as I started thinking more clearly, I realized what had happened -- I had run head-on into the bucket!  I started laughing at my own stupidity! After another moment, I got up, and felt blood running down my face.

In the summer of 2017, we raised 3 hogs and I couldn't get a slaughter date that wasn't months away. So we had a hog killing/slaughter/processing party. One was ours, two belonged to neighbors, so we got busy. We hung them from the FEL bucket. I skinned and gutted 3 hogs. The first two, a neighbor lady helped, a tiny lady of Filipino heritage. She had no problem walking under the raised bucket but I slammed my head on it over and over. I said a lot of bad words. LOL LOL


----------



## Baymule

Working in machine shops and welding shops in my youth taught me safety. NEVER put up the forks on a forklift until you are ready to use them. ALWAYS lower the forks when moving. Same thing with the tractor bucket. I never leave the bucket up when driving or parking the tractor. The only time I raise the bucket is when I am using it. Other than that, I raise it slightly higher than ground level. When parked, it is lowered to the ground, slightly tilted so not to catch rain in the bucket. Safety. Safety. Safety.


----------



## farmerjan

greybeard said:


> I knew a guy that walked into the pointy end of one..poked a nice big hole in his belly too.. (which is what I first thought happened to the guy that walked into my house shot Christmas Eve..)


OUCH !!!!!!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Nothing much going on here, but I will post about another stupid thing I did.  When I retired Oct 2017, I elected COBRA.  Since it was scheduled to run out Mar 30, 2019, I decided to end it Dec 31, 2018, and to sign up for Medicare and AARP Medicare Supplement Plan for me, and to sign up my Beautiful Gal under healthcare.gov.  Well, I was successful in getting coverage for me, and I THOUGHT I was successful in getting coverage for her.  We both learned on Saturday that I had not completed the application for her, and that she was not covered.  Since the open enrollment is now closed, we are having to hustle to get coverage for her.  Oh, how stupid could I have been not to ensure that everything was complete during open enrollment! 

ETA: Also, I intended to start documenting as I go the books we have finished reading as we finish them.  We recently finished _Smart Ass_ by Margaret Winslow, and we will finish tonight _Enlightenment Now_ by Stephen Pinker.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

That REALLY sucks! Do they not give you some sort of confirmation? 

We are gonna have to do something for DD1. She turns 26 in early March which means she won't be covered by DWs insurance any more. Frankly I don't understand why there is a "you lose it the day you turn 26" thing at all. She's still a dependent and though now at school in New Brunswick is still a member of this household. Seems to me that any family member living in your house should be eligible for coverage no matter how old they are. What reason is there for that to not be the case?

In any case, she has basic insurance (doctor/ER) the Canadian government while she is there, plus an extra cost coverage for other medical things through school and will have basic coverage anytime she is anywhere in Canada as long as she is a current student or on summer break unless she doesn't go back. But there is no coverage when she is home from school for more than a couple of weeks I think.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Frankly I don't understand why there is a "you lose it the day you turn 26" thing at all.


At what age do you think the cutoff should be?


----------



## RollingAcres

STA that really sucks! Hopefully you find coverage for her soon!


----------



## Mike CHS

I'm not sure about Arkansas but Farm Bureau is one of the biggest health care providers in Tennessee.


----------



## Bruce

greybeard said:


> At what age do you think the cutoff should be?


Don't know why there should be one at all. I can see adding a premium for a family member if they are no longer dependents but why force them onto their own? Especially with the attempt to kill the ACA. Under pre ACA if you didn't have a job that provided health insurance there was no way you could afford it as an individual not in a "big pool" unless you had a job that paid a lot. And those jobs usually come with benefits.


----------



## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> ETA: Also, I intended to start documenting as I go the books we have finished reading as we finish them.  We recently finished _Smart Ass_ by Margaret Winslow, and we will finish tonight _Enlightenment Now_ by Stephen Pinker.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie



Hey!! A book about ME!!


----------



## Rammy

Baymule said:


> Hey!! A book about ME!!


No. A book about you would be titled Texas Smartass....or I Hate Greenbriars!


----------



## Baymule




----------



## Wehner Homestead

I’m a few days late but just catching up. DH always puts a 5 gallon bucket on the hay spear to keep it from being a danger. My grandfather did that growing up too.


----------



## farmerjan

We usually angle the bucket down so the spear touches the ground when parked where it can easily get run into.  Also keeps the bucket from getting water in it.  But I have hit it on my shins a few times.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All BYHers,

My Beautiful Gal and I decided to play in the mud this morning.  We started back on the boggy area which I showed recently in a previous post.  When I last visited Lowe's in Ft. Smith, I bought 2 10 ft section of 4" Schedule 40 pipe, along with what was supposedly 100 ft of 4" flexpipe (turned out to be more like 50 ft).  We decided to dig a trench across path where a tiny stream flows.  I placed the 10 ft Schedule 40 pipe to see how well it would cover the path.  It isn't long enough but with the second one they will be.  I also decided that maybe this area may stay boggy most of the year, even with a pipe running across the path to help it drain.  So I am thinking of building a bridge across the boggy area.  So I measured the distance from one end of the boggy area to the other, and it turned out to be 33 ft (from where I am standing to the white arrow in the picture):

 

What I am currently considering is building a bridge 8 ft wide by 32 ft long.  I want the bridge strong enough to support the tractor, as I plan on building a trail through the woods eventually to the western most edge of the south mowed pasture.  I figured that I would have concrete blocks for supports at each end and in middle parts, both lengthwise and widthwise.  Then I would lay 2 2"x6"x8' bolted together lengthwise.  I would have either 3 or 4 of these beams going lengthwise in parallel, and would join the beams together long enough to make 32' total.  Then I would lay 2x4x8ft widthwise the length of the bridge.  I would use pressure-treated wood for all of this.  I have yet to estimate the cost, but I imagine it will be $300+.  So I am looking for comments on the good and bad of my bridge design, and recommendations for perhaps better ways to do it.

Comments?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## farmerjan

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> All BYHers,
> 
> My Beautiful Gal and I decided to play in the mud this morning.  We started back on the boggy area which I showed recently in a previous post.  When I last visited Lowe's in Ft. Smith, I bought 2 10 ft section of 4" Schedule 40 pipe, along with what was supposedly 100 ft of 4" flexpipe (turned out to be more like 50 ft).  We decided to dig a trench across path where a tiny stream flows.  I placed the 10 ft Schedule 40 pipe to see how well it would cover the path.  It isn't long enough but with the second one they will be.  I also decided that maybe this area may stay boggy most of the year, even with a pipe running across the path to help it drain.  So I am thinking of building a bridge across the boggy area.  So I measured the distance from one end of the boggy area to the other, and it turned out to be 33 ft (from where I am standing to the white arrow in the picture):
> View attachment 57228
> 
> What I am currently considering is building a bridge 8 ft wide by 32 ft long.  I want the bridge strong enough to support the tractor, as I plan on building a trail through the woods eventually to the western most edge of the south mowed pasture.  I figured that I would have concrete blocks for supports at each end and in middle parts, both lengthwise and widthwise.  Then I would lay 2 2"x6"x8' bolted together lengthwise.  I would have either 3 or 4 of these beams going lengthwise in parallel, and would join the beams together long enough to make 32' total.  Then I would lay 2x4x8ft widthwise the length of the bridge.  I would use pressure-treated wood for all of this.  I have yet to estimate the cost, but I imagine it will be $300+.  So I am looking for comments on the good and bad of my bridge design, and recommendations for perhaps better ways to do it.
> 
> Comments?
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


 
Okay @greybeard   this is where your expertise ( or your experience) is needed.


----------



## goatgurl

good to know that you and your bride are still enjoying farm life.  don't have a clue whether the bridge idea is good or bad, will wait expectantly for others opinions.  
give me a holler soon and we'll all meet for lunch.


----------



## Bruce

At the "summer" (mostly) place that DW's quite extended family owns there are several wet areas. They cut down trees of similar diameter and run those the length of the bridge then use rough cut lumber probably 6" to 8" wide for the planks. It would probably hold up to a vehicle but neither the bridges nor trail are wide enough and they don't have any "off road" vehicles anyway.


----------



## Baymule

Why not just throw down a few more culverts (at least 12",  15" would be better) and cover it with dirt/rock? I must admit that a bridge would be more aesthetically pleasing, but with a good rock road, there would never be any rotten boards. Just my two cents.


----------



## Rammy

And its cheaper probably....


----------



## greybeard

farmerjan said:


> Okay @greybeard   this is where your expertise ( or your experience) is needed.


You haven't seen about 30' of my own main driveway have ya....? (waiting for the world to dry up enough for me to get a few tons of limestone brought in..the road won't handle a loaded dump truck right now.)



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Then I would lay 2 2"x6"x8' bolted together lengthwise. I would have either 3 or 4 of these beams going lengthwise in parallel, and would join the beams together long enough to make 32' total. Then I would lay 2x4x8ft widthwise the length of the bridge. I would use pressure-treated wood for all of this. I have yet to estimate the cost, but I imagine it will be $300+.





Forget applying rock in that area without doing some serious drainage work first, or at least using geotextile fabric and plenty of it.
Putting rock alone, down on that mud will be an annual event for the rest of your life. It will just be pushed right on down. Use the gt fabric!
Cost of your bridge will be over $300 for sure...about $400 just in the cross planking on top of the 2x6 longitudinal beams.
#2 PT 2x4x8 at lowes =$4.37 ea.
30' X 12"=360".
A 2x4 covers approx 3.5".
360" ÷ 3.5=102 2x4s just for the planking you will drive on. $445.74 plus tax.
That can and should be reduced by spacing out each 2x4 about 3/4-1" between each board.
Be careful which PT lumber you buy..it is not all created equal.
The problem is, most #2 PT is not rated for ground contact or for installations where it will be driven on and mud and dirt will end up caked on it. It's known as "above ground pressure treated" and won't last but 3-4 years exposed to weather when laid down flat. (They will last a lot longer if this were an application where they were stood up vertically but that isn't the case)
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Severe-Wea...-3-5-in-x-8-ft-2-Prime-Treated-Lumber/4756851
_
_


_

#2 prime southern yellow pine with virtually no wane

Severe Weather Above Ground pressure treated exterior wood protected by Ecolife (EL2); a stabilizing formula that repels water keeps boards straighter and looking better longer

Ecolife (EL2) provides built-in water repellency that lasts for up to 3 years and reduces surface cracking and checking by up to 50% compared to ordinary treated wood
_
You don't want to be replacing boards and rebuilding this every 3 years.

What you want to use, is ground contact rated PT lumber for this whole project. It's going to be colored green. Plan on about $1 extra for each 2x4.
Something like this:
https://www.menards.com/main/buildi...re-treated-lumber/1110818/p-1444422742084.htm
_
This lumber has been pressure treated for ground contact (GC) applications and can be completely buried in the ground. It's also suitable for fresh water use and can be submerged. AC2® brand treated wood products use MicroPro™ technology, which is a revolutionary way to pressure treat wood for decks, fences, landscaping, and general construction uses. MicroPro™ technology offers many benefits including significantly improved corrosion performance. MicroPro™/AC2® technology is the first treated wood process to be certified under the Scientific Certification Systems Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) Program based on life cycle assessment. Many MicroPro™/AC2® treated wood products are also available in a popular CedarTone color similar to cedar products with the new MicroShades™ color pigment system (check the MicroShades CedarTone category for prices and availability). MicroPro™/AC2® pressure treated wood products are protected from termites and fungal decay and are backed by an Osmose Residential and Agricultural Limited Warranty Program (see warranty for details).

_


_

#2 & better pine

Lighter, more natural wood appearance for improved staining qualities

Environmentally friendly- safe for use around pets, playsets, and vegetable gardens

Kiln dried and heat treated prior to pressure treatment

Triple-coated, hot-dipped galvanized, or stainless steel fasteners are recommended

MicroPro™/AC2® treated wood is NAHB Research Center green approved

MicroPro™ lifetime limited warranty

Ground Contact level treatment (.15pcf) has more than double the preservative of Above Ground level treated wood (.07pcf)
_
As far as your plan..
You might want to consider putting in a french drain, to keep that area a little drier. It depends whether or not you have a natural right-to-left slope to the area or not.
Also, put the pencil to your bridge project, and instead of a bridge, contrast the cost and labor against putting down geotextile fabric and then aggregate (rock) on top of the fabric.  The area you are in, crushed limestone may be a LOT cheaper than it is here. No matter what, I would put down the fabric....It helps support whatever you build on top of soggy ground.

Another option... Instead of using 2x6s, IF you have a source for surplus full length utility poles, they will last a LOT longer than treated 2x6s.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone, for your input.  Special thanks to Mr. @greybeard.  I feared that doing nothing to the ground to prevent water seepage would cause a number of problems and you confirmed my fears.  I will look into the geotextile and ground contact lumber.  I will post the results as we solidify our plans.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

While these pictures won't impress you folks in the upper Midwest and the Northeast, maybe it will impress our friends in the lower states.  We got around 2" of snow here in Boonesville, AR, which is the average amount we get a year.  Here is a picture of our pond from the front porch:



My wife's next older sister Treasa and her husband James came for a visit.  James love to make carpentry-type things.  Every time they come to visit he asks what we need built.  When he asked on this visit, my Beautiful Gal asked him to built her a bench to put outdoors in the picnic area we plan to make south of our house out in the woods.  So he and I did just that:
 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

the bench looks long enough and wide enough to lay down on and take a nap too....or whatever else one or two ppl wants do in the woods...


----------



## frustratedearthmother

It's a really nice bench!


----------



## Rammy

Nice job!


----------



## Latestarter

The bench looks great! Good work.    Sure is nice to have a heated work space. Especially when doing the wood working after a snoiw storm with the grounds all white. Nice scenic view from the front porch.


----------



## RollingAcres

Nice bench!


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## farmerjan

Beautiful view and nice bench and wonderful to have a BIL that likes to build things...... You lucked out in the extended family department!!!!!


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> So he and I did just that


What a guy!


----------



## Wehner Homestead

I need to place an order for one in the form of a porch swing!! Very nice!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

farmerjan said:


> You lucked out in the extended family department!!!!!



Yes, I did.  When they were alive, my Beautiful Gal's parents loved me like a son.  And her siblings and partners have treated me well, too.  My family have also treated my Beautiful Gal well, especially my baby sister.  So, yes, I am well blessed with an extended family.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

goatgurl said:


> give me a holler soon and we'll all meet for lunch.



Miss @goatgurl, just PMed you.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Haven't posted in awhile so I thought I would let you folks know what is going on.  On Tuesday I decided I would try to find some used railroad crossties for use in building bridges, etc.  The only place I could find was at Lowe's in Conway (100 miles away) for $20 each.  I happened to ask my neighbor if he knew where I could find some and he mentioned a home center store right here in Booneville.  I called them and they said they had about 100 or so for $13.00 each or $12.00 each if I bought an entire bundle (16 ties to a bundle).  I decided to buy 2 bundles and picked them up on Wednesday.  Yesterday I decided to see if I could span the muddy area at the entrance to the dump, since it has not dried out any.  The ties were long enough.  So I put 8 ties down there length wise and then tried going across them with the tractor.  Had no problem doing so.  I got out 1 grapple load of junk and moved it to the pasture.  But it was near lunch time so I decided to go to the house to eat lunch and then come back and get more.

When I came back I had no problem getting to the junk pile, but when I tried to back out, the front tires wouldn't climb up the ties.  Instead they dug in the dirt at the end of the ties, turning it to mud.  I had to go back to the dump area and drop off the junk I had picked up, then turn around, and I got a running start at the ties.  This time I was able to cross over the muddy area on the ties.  But now I am still stuck with having to get the junk out of that area without using the tractor.

The bigger surprise I encountered was when I checked how much propane there was in our tank, which will hold 500 gallons when full (though the propane company normally fills it to 80% full).  We last filled it up on Dec 13.  It was below 5% when I checked it yesterday.  We used almost 400 gallons of propane in 42 days!    Is that a normal amount to use for a 2400 sf house will central heating (propane)?  It seems like a WHOLE LOT to me, but maybe I have too lofty of expectations.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard




----------



## Bruce

I take it you are not on automatic delivery? They usually (at least up here) calculate how much you will have used based on heating degree days and prior year usage and fill when "appropriate". That does seem like a lot in that amount of time. 

We are getting screwed for over $4/gallon here, I hope you pay much less. The last time they filled (12/28) I had looked at the gauge a few days earlier and it was about 30%. Paid over $1K for the "fill" and yes I think you are right, they only seemed to have gone to 80%. Not sure why they don't go higher but my bank account isn't complaining that they didn't want even more money all at once. 3.5 months since the prior fill. We use propane for hot water, clothes dryer, cooktop and the furnace for the rebuilt part of the house which is about 1,200 sq ft I think.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> We are getting screwed for over $4/gallon here, I hope you pay much less.


One of the reasons it costs you so much is the transport costs. There are new pipelines being built from the Tx gulf coast refineries to the NorthEast that should increase supply but I read on one of the cattle boards last week, that one of the East Coast state's governors had halted work on at least one of those pipelines, so they may never be finished. 2 different plants about 40 miles from me are in the midst of multi billion $ expansions to increase their propane capacity and had intended to use those pipelines to supply the upper East Coast. 
Residential propane in Texas has averaged around $2.50/gal since 2014 and today's price is $2.44.
https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=W_EPLLPA_PRS_STX_DPG&f=W


----------



## Bruce

There is a natural gas pipeline running south not 2 miles from us. Too bad they can't stick that in a tanker and bring it to my house. I could change the nozzles in the things that use propane. In fact I had to change the one for the dryer TO propane when we got it. 

I also think I am getting screwed by the propane company because they own the buried tank. I can not buy propane from anyone else.


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## goatgurl

used almost 400 gals in just over 3 months in a 2400sq ft house so you may have used that much if you keep the house nice and toasty.  what propane company do you use?  you may want to have them check to see if you have a leak some where along the line.


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## greybeard

Bruce said:


> The last time they filled (12/28) I had looked at the gauge a few days earlier and it was about 30%. Paid over $1K for the "fill" and yes I think you are right, they only seemed to have gone to 80%. Not sure why they don't go higher



From a propane company FAQ:
*Q: I just had a propane delivery, but my propane tank isn't 100% full. How come?*
A: Liquid propane expands quite a bit as the temperature rises.*In order to accommodate for this volume expansion, propane tanks aren't filled above 80% capacity. It's standard industry practice and important in order to maintain a safety margin.

(I don't really know much about propane tanks except that even at 80% they still float. I had one show up in my pasture in Sept 2017...the owner finally showed up to haul it home about 3 months ago and when he flipped the dome lid open red wasps about ate him up)


----------



## greybeard

goatgurl said:


> used almost 400 gals in just over 3 months in a 2400sq ft house so you may have used that much if you keep the house nice and toasty.  what propane company do you use?  you may want to have them check to see if you have a leak some where along the line.


I think STA may also heat his shop with propane...


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All, thanks for commenting.  The propane company, Anderson Propane of Ozark, AR, filled the tank yesterday.  Almost $900.  Since we own the tank, at least we are not captive to the propane company.  As for how we heat our house, we keep the upstairs really cool.  We turned on the heat up there one time to ensure it worked, and have kept it off ever since.  We heat the master bath using a space heater.  We have (or had) the the downstairs unit set at 68.  We burn the gas fireplace almost all day, but turn it off at night.  The shop does have a large gas heater, but there is a leak in the line somewhere which I have yet to track down, so the line is capped off.  We had the line to the house leak tested by the propane company yesterday and they found no leaks.  So it seems that the central heat simply uses a lot of propane.  I decided to turn off the central heat and use space heaters.  This morning when we got up it was 66 downstairs, so not too bad, and I only had 3 space heaters going -- one in the downstairs bathroom, one in the laundry room, and one in the great room.  I think I will try that for awhile and see how much the costs change.

Thanks again for all of your comments.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Rammy

Be careful with those space heaters. Too many times Ive heard of houses catching fire because they were placed too close to something or got tipped over, whatever. 
I had thought about a propane tank just to have a backup heat source just in case of a power outage in the winter.  But since I may move one day, kind of not sure if I should put the expense in. I wouldnt use it other than if the power went out, so buying propane to just sit there seems wasteful. 
I used to have a propane space heater but ex didnt maintain it and it rusted and became a mouse house so had to throw it out. It might be better if I bought a new one for that purpose instead of investing in a tank.


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> We burn the gas fireplace almost all day, but turn it off at night.


As in a real fireplace with a chimney and open hearth? Versus a propane burning stove in the hearth? Few things are as inefficient as a fireplace for heat. The heat mostly goes straight up the chimney pulling other interior air with it which then pulls cold outside air into the house. If that is what you have, I would run, not walk, to a "fireplace" store and see what options they have for something that would heat the house. A nice freestanding propane stove that vents out the chimney would be good.

OK, so propane expands when it warms up, 80% makes sense. How warm does it get when the tank is buried? I can see it in the summer more than the winter, at least up here.


----------



## Rammy

My neighbor has a real fireplace, but he installed this small wood burning stove in front of it sitting in front and ran the pipe up thru the chimney. Really heats the house up alot more than the actual fireplace. Real toasty in there when its going good.


----------



## Ridgetop

Bruce is right about the loss of heat up the chimney in a fireplace.  If you are trying to use your gas fireplace (propane) to heat the house it might be very efficient.  We are in California and a friend decided to use her natural gas fireplace last year instead of turning up the central heat during a cold snap.  She said it doubled her gas bill and she only used the gas fireplace for a week!  Since gas fires don't make a coal bed, which is where a lot of the heat comes from in a fireplace, you do not get as much heat off it as you think.  Since your propane heat is so expensive, you could also check into changing it over to split system units.  They are the ones that are on the walls, very unobtrusive, and do both heat and A/C. 

You might want to look into a woodstove insert for the fireplace.  They are very efficient and heat well.  Some have fans built in them to blow the hot air into the room.  With all the dead wood you are trimming back on your place, you should be able to get a good woodpile started for next year.  Instead of doing a burn pile on the property, burn that wood in your wood burner fireplace!  If you need to split the logs, you might be able to rent a gas wood splitter, or find one for sale cheaply.  They come in several sizes and prices. 

My aunt used a woodstove in Yelm and burned wood to heat her little house.  It was only about 1000 sf, her windows were original, and her insulation was substandard.  Even though she had put in insulation 30 years ago in the ceilings, the house was 100 years old and had the original walls - no insulation.  We eventually put insulation in one wall in the kitchen, and 2 walls in the bathroom, when we did a lot of work there but not enough.  We installed the split system for my aunt since I did not want her trying to haul wood on her walker!  LOL  Her wood stove worked really well though and she had lived there for 30 years with no other source of heat.  We kept the wood stove since in case of a power outage, she would need it for heat.  The current tenant is using the stove for heat to save on the power bills since it works so well!  She also had a small pot bellied stove in the bunkhouse which we used last year when we were there in January.  We were sorting out junk, etc., and it was really cold so DH decided to see if it worked.  2 pieces of wood lasted several hours and we had to take off our jackets!  The bunkhouse is only about 12 x 15 in one room and 12 x 15 in the other with the stove kind in the middle between the rooms.  We are going to keep that stove and bring it to Texas or wherever we move!     

In Idaho, Debra used a wood burning stove in her fireplace and it kept everything warm.  She set her central heating temp down to 60 or lower so it did not come on until about 2am when the house had cooled off.  She has a large 2 story house with lots of windows and an open loft and the upstairs was _really_ warm.  The downstairs stayed warm with the wood burner stove, although the bedrooms got a little cold in the evening.  An electric blanket or bed warmer tool care of that. 

I think you should do what Bruce says and check into a wood burner.  They also have stoves that use pellets that you can buy in bags.


----------



## CntryBoy777

Where we use to live, we had propane heat. We had the ventless wall hung kind with a pilot light. When we had to replace one of them, I bought a 4 burner that had a thermostat on it and it would turn off and on at set temps.....it sure beat the manual on/off that we replaced....we rented the tank and it took around $300 to fill it and it lasted us all winter....we only heated with it.....a 16x60' mobile home....


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone, for your comments.  We are well aware of how well a wood burning stove works.  We had a wood burning stock insert in our fireplace in Georgia and kept the house quite toasty.  Our problem there was getting wood.  Since we lived in a subdivision I had to buy the wood, which wasn't cheap.  Here in Arkansas we have plenty of wood.  Unfortunately the fireplace and chimney are made for looks, not burning wood.  We priced having a real fireplace and chimney installed, and it was going to cost well over $20,000.  Ouch!  So now we have plenty of wood but no place to burn it!  

We are quite aware of the dangers of space heaters.  We used them in Georgia and in Texas, so we know to be careful about ensuring that they are not too close to drapes or furniture.  The propane fireplace we have here is not vented, so all of the heat and moisture stays in the house.  We burn it during the day when we are in the house but turn it off when we go outside or to bed.

Thanks again for all of your comments.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

If the "fireplace" you have now is not vented, that means it is not connected to a chimney of any sort. That negates all the comments regarding the inefficiency of fireplaces, all the heat stays in the house. So what you have is a fancy looking propane heater? Shouldn't use a lot of fuel, something is wrong somewhere.

That $20K has to include a brick chimney. You can connect a woodstove to a triple wall metal chimney, shouldn't cost near as much.


----------



## greybeard

Propane......wood...LNG...
Ya'll all missing out and just wastin your $$ and your labor.
I heat this entire 2 story house..




with a single wonderful bit of technology, (from the Coast of China)
Heat Surge HT L.E.D., with Hybrid-Thermic™ heat technology. Hybrid-Thermic heat is an engineering genius so advanced, it actually uses a micro-furnace (did I mention from the Coast of China? ) and a thermal heat exchanger to perform its miracles. The thermal heat exchanger acts like the rays of the sun to heat me, the grand kids, & everything else. The micro-furnace then heats all the surrounding air.... In fact, it actually produces 1500 blasting watts of Ortho-Thermic™, bone-soothing heat.



Yep, I got me one of them there (as seen on TV) Amish Heaters.. (they know all about electricity and electronics..they didn't invent it, but they perfected it and shared it with all the rest of the world)

well not really but I think the ads are hilarious


----------



## Bruce

Yep, gonna heat STA's 2,400 sq ft house with a 1,500 watt heater. Well I suppose it would be possible if the house was super insulated and they never opened a door.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I'll have to look into the insulated stove pipe and find out if the hearth is sturdy enough to support a wood stove.

Mr. @greybeard, that was a really funny post.  Thanks.

My Beautiful Gal and I decided to build a second trail yesterday and today.  We finished around 3PM.  So, for your viewing please, here is a tour of the STA Farm Dismal Swamp and (future) picnic area trail.  This trail joins up with the trail out to the deer stand at the end of the video.





Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

I wanna see a picture of the "fireplace" and hearth if you please.

"We'll almost certainly have to put a bridge here"

Yeah, looks like a good place for one unless you are only walking or riding horses.


----------



## RollingAcres

Safety first, STA remembered to put his seat belt on. lol
Looks like a nice trail.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @Bruce, sir, here is a picture of the fireplace and hearth.  Sorry it's a bit blurry:
 

Also, here is a picture of the sunrise this morning.  I never get tired of seeing this:


Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## RollingAcres

Beautiful sunrise pic!


----------



## Bruce

So there is no actual chimney, just all the stone work? Is that on an outside wall? If so, eave or gable side?


Better batten down the hatches, "red sky in morning sailor take warning"! But beautiful!!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @Bruce,

I don't know if there is a chimney pipe or not.  The chimney is on both the inside and the outside.  When we first looked at this house, I thought that the chimney would support a wood burning stove insert, but was later told that it would not.  The chimney has a cap on the top.  I wish I could go to the top and look in it, but the roof is so steep that I am not sure how I would get up there.  Here is a picture of the upper part of the chimney from inside the house to give you an idea of just how steep the roof is:


I am considering contacting a wood stove store to see what a good stove would cost and have them check it to see if the fireplace can accommodate a stove.  I think that would make sense rather than taking someone else's word for it.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Sumi,

Back on Jan 6 I sent the below message to you and the other administrators and received no response.  I figured that each of you hoped that one of the others would answer.  So I am sending this to you specifically.  How can I get notices whenever the folks I am following posts something, instead of having to do it manually?

Thanks for whatever help you can provide.

Senile Texas Aggie



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> @DuckLady, @elevan, @Nifty, @Sumi, and @Support,
> 
> I need some help in understanding why I am not getting notified when certain members whom I follow post on BYH. For example, among the folks I follow are Miss @Baymule, Miss @farmerjan, Mr. @greybeard, and Miss @Mini Horses. I follow those folks because they almost always have something quite educational to say, and in Miss @Baymule's case, quite funny! Yet while looking for something else, I stumbled upon a thread, "Farmerjan's journal - Weather", where all four of those folks, as well as others, had posted. As I read through it, I was quite pleased with what I learned, but quite disappointed that I had not been notified.
> 
> So my question is this: is it something I am doing wrong -- maybe my Senile Texas Aggie I/Q getting in the way -- or does the "Follow member" feature not include alerts?
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I think that would make sense rather than taking someone else's word for it.


YEP!

That certainly is a steep roof! Smart man to not be climbing it. You say the chimney comes out through the roof. Is the cap raised, ie not meant to seal the chimney off? I can't imagine someone would spend the money needed to build a stone chimney that big just for show. Though it could be, people with plenty of spare change do spend on odd things.


----------



## farmerjan

If you get a stove or a chimney company to come out and inspect the chimney, they should be able to tell you if it is safe.  If it is questionable, you can have the chimney "lined" .  We have a guy here that does old log houses and stone work.  He has refinished some chimneys  in old houses.  They can put a stainless liner down the chimney to line it if it doesn't have the normal clay type liners in it, from  when the chimney was built. It would not be hard for someone that does that type of work to inspect it and tell you.

Another suggestion is to put in an outdoor "stove furnace" to utilize the wood for heat.  They are a real furnace, have a water jacket that is heated by the fire inside.  It is piped into your house system if it is hot water... or piped in and run through a "fan conversion" so that it will work and heat the air in the hot air type heating systems.  The mess from the wood stays outside, you usually only load the stove twice a day and it is controlled by a thermostat inside.  Many people have them here.  I still like the idea of the actual wood burning stove inside, there is nothing like actual heat rolling off a stove... but the other is still a good alternative.  It also is less of a concern for insurance purposes, because the "fire" is outside.  They are used for many commercial greenhouses and such.  Something that you could look into and then not have to worry so much about the chimneys inside either.  I think the last prices I heard here are in the 3-6,000 range, which is not chump change.... but would use alot of the wood and you can keep your current heating system as a backup.  The one thing they do need is electric to run the fan/water circulating.... but one guy here has his hooked to a smaller solar system so he is not dependent on the electric company.


----------



## Latestarter

Several in fact... That is one severely sloped roof there Mr. STA... Please remain OFF of it and leave it to the professionals!  If you did an outdoor wood burning furnace, you could route hot water (through insulated pipes) to the house and shop and heat both. Figuring $1000/month for propane, 2 winters would pay for the whole set up @ 10-12K... Lord knows you aren't hurting for "cord wood" to feed said furnace, and aside from the manual labor of cutting and stacking it, and of course feeding it twice a day, seems like it might be a pretty sweet deal.


----------



## Sumi

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Miss @Sumi,
> 
> Back on Jan 6 I sent the below message to you and the other administrators and received no response.  I figured that each of you hoped that one of the others would answer.  So I am sending this to you specifically.  How can I get notices whenever the folks I am following posts something, instead of having to do it manually?
> 
> Thanks for whatever help you can provide.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


I did see this and I saw @Latestarter answered you and explained the notices HERE. I can't add anything to what he said there


----------



## Finnie

Sumi said:


> I did see this and I saw @Latestarter answered you and explained the notices HERE. I can't add anything to what he said there


But what Latestarter posted was all about Alerts. The alerts tell you about what threads you are watching, and what likes, quotes, badges and mentions you've received. I've noticed that the only place I see information about PEOPLE I am watching is on the "Newsfeed" page. Since it doesn't occur to me to dig up my Newsfeed page, I miss a lot. It sure would be nice if there was a way to get notified when new items appear on the Newsfeed page. (Maybe that does happen on the desktop version? I only use mobile.)


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Sumi said:


> I can't add anything to what he said there





Finnie said:


> But what Latestarter posted was all about Alerts. The alerts tell you about what threads you are watching, and what likes, quotes, badges and mentions you've received. I've noticed that the only place I see information about PEOPLE I am watching is on the "Newsfeed" page.



Miss @Sumi,

I thought that the reason I can follow people is so that I would be notified whenever those people posted anything.  Yet I don't get any kind of alert that I know at least for those folks, unless they happen to post on threads I am watching.  For example, among the people I follow are Miss @Baymule, Mr. @greybeard, and Miss @farmerjan.  Neither of the first two have journals of their own and until recently neither did Miss @farmerjan.  I would like to be notified whenever any of these folks post anything.  Yet I do not get any notices that I know of whenever they post to thread that I am not watching.  So what is the purpose of the "People You Follow" function?  Is it merely a popularity contest?  If it is, that's OK, but I would like to know that.  Otherwise, if there is a way to be notified whenever they post, then how do I get notified?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## RollingAcres

You're not following me?  I'm hurt! 
Just kidding, just want to pick on you.


----------



## Rammy

RollingAcres said:


> You're not following me?  I'm hurt!
> Just kidding, just want to pick on you.


He's not following me either.  Some stalker he turned out to be.


----------



## RollingAcres

Rammy said:


> He's not following me either.  Some stalker he turned out to be.


He's fired from being a stalker! We need to find someone who can do the job right.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Rammy and Miss @RollingAcres,

I am following you two now!  <evil cackle>  But if it is as effective in notifying me of your postings as it is others, you two don't have anything to worry about.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Miss @Rammy and Miss @RollingAcres,
> 
> I am following you two now!  <evil cackle>  But if it is as effective in notifying me of your postings as it is others, you two don't have anything to worry about.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


Too little too late...that's an after thought, so not good enough. Right @Rammy ?


----------



## Rammy

Yay! @Senile_Texas_Aggie  is following me!  <wait..........who's that behind the bushes?>


----------



## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I would like to be notified whenever any of these folks post anything. Yet I do not get any notices that I know of whenever they post to thread that I am not watching.


@Senile_Texas_Aggie In the mean time you can try the following steps:

Click the *Profile Pic* of the person you are following. 
When the Profile pops up, click *Profile Page 


 *
Click Recent Activity or Postings


----------



## RollingAcres

Rammy said:


> Yay! @Senile_Texas_Aggie  is following me!  <wait..........who's that behind the bushes?>


Your creepy neighbor?


----------



## Rammy

No, silly............STA!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, Miss @RollingAcres and Miss @Rammy!  You two are a lot of fun and are two of my favorite folks to have stalked. 

As for the above method of locating posts by folks I follow, that is a different version of how I have done it.  But it is something I have to remember to do manually, instead of being notified automatically.  I'd like to be notified whenever those I follow post to ANY thread.  If there is a way to be notified automatically, I have yet to find it.  Just think -- if I were notified every time either of you posted anything on any thread, I could stalk you two better and make you feel even more creepy than you do now!   

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## B&B Happy goats

, no follow, not being stalked  no STA..


----------



## Rammy




----------



## B&B Happy goats

That it....he doesn't  stalk women his own age.....hummmmmm


----------



## Latestarter

Now B&B, if he did that, his wife might take umbrage! Perhaps STA chasing "juveniles" doesn't appear as a direct threat to her.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss  @B&B Happy goats,

If this danged "Follow" function worked like I think it should, you would definitely be on the list.  But you joined BYH after I had tried it and having failed to be notified of others, so I stopped adding folks.  But I have now added you to my list.  <evil cackle>

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## B&B Happy goats

No evil chuckle needed.... you have just hopped on the crazy train....come along for the ride, seatbelts and helmets are required....


----------



## Rammy




----------



## B&B Happy goats

I don't  know what your waiting on miss Rammy.....you have been known to help drive the crazy train yourself ...quite a few times my friend


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

You two crack me up!


----------



## Rammy

Me? Im innocent.


----------



## Bruce

As the driven snow!


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Wahhhhhaaaaaaa really Rammy.....really ?


----------



## Bruce

Criminals ALWAYS claim "not guilty", even if they are caught red handed.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, I thought I would update our journal as to the comic relief that's been going on here.

Last Friday we started hearing the tree frogs singing again.  They've been singing ever since, although with it supposedly turning colder tomorrow they will probably head back under ground to wait out the cold.  It seems really weird to hear them singing in early February.

Last week my Beautiful Gal and I decided to contact a man that does construction work.  We had him come take a look at the Dismal Swamp across our newly built trail and give us an estimate for making a road and bridge across there.  After getting a price and thinking about it, we told him to come out Monday morning.  He was able to get it done in 1 day.  Here are some pictures of the before, during, and after.  (I apologize in advance if the pictures look blurry -- I am starting to develop tremors in my hands, just like my dad did, and I have a hard time holding the camera still at times.)
Before, at 7:30:



During, at 8:39, after they had put down the geotextile and the first dump truck load of shale:
 

After, at 1:43 PM, once they had finished.  They put in a 15" drain pipe where the small stream flowed:
 

While we walked over it and was able to avoid the mud, we have yet to drive across with the Gator or the tractor.

Speaking of the tractor, I noticed that it had been leaking hydraulic fluid and was low and needed more to be added.  I looked everywhere I could for the hydraulic fillneck but never did find it.  The previous owner didn't know where it was, either.  I had planned on calling the tractor dealer Monday morning when they opened up.  I happened to ask the skidsteer guy, Chris, if he might know where it was.  He looked a good while as well and finally found it.  It turned out that the cap that is supposed to cover the hole where the hydraulic fluid goes was missing.  There was no telling how long it had been missing.  So early Tuesday I took the tractor to the dealer in Alma and dropped it off to have them drain and replace the hydraulic fluid and filter, and replace the fuel filter.  On the way back I stopped at Lowe's and Office Depot, but didn't get back until late in the day.  The dealer is supposed to be finished by the end of the week.  I hope no damage was done to the hydraulic system or transmission due to dust getting into the system.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## RollingAcres

Looks good STA.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Sometimes its  worth having someone  else do the project...looks like a nice job was done...hope you are pleased with his work and price charged


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Forgot to post these pictures earlier today.  We took these Jan 30 just inside the gate to our farm.  Never did see Wile E. Coyote.


----------



## RollingAcres

Meep Meep


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> We took these Jan 30 just inside the gate to our farm. Never did see Wile E. Coyote.


Maybe he was under a safe at the bottom of a cliff or blown up somewhere?

Liked the bridge part of your post, didn't like the tractor part though! Is the hydraulic fill neck under the hood or something such that it isn't obvious? Mine is on the deck of the operator station, the dipstick is in the cap. I too hope no dirt got in and damaged anything, presumably the filters would have caught that. Should be good as new with the leak fixed when you get it back. Weird that the prior owner didn't know where the fill hole was, maybe he always had the dealer do any work on it.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

The dip stick is on the transmission hump of the operator station floorboard, while the fill port is above the right axle, just to the right of the differential, just below the toolbox that is behind the seat.  The previous owner had never needed to add hydraulic fluid and because it had so few hours on it (<400 when I bought it) that he had never had the fluid replaced.


----------



## Bruce

Curious. I wonder why they don't just have the fill under the dipstick, sure easier to pour in there than where it is supposed to go! Easier to see if the cap has vibrated loose as well  

And also curious, my owner's manual says to change the filters at 50 hours, then every 300 hours. Fluid at 100 hours then every 200 hours (or 2 years) thereafter. I did the fluid at 50 hours with the filters, figured I'd be losing some when I took the filters off anyway.


----------



## Rammy

RollingAcres said:


> Meep Meep


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I just posted a thread titled "risk-on/risk-off economic indicator is now flashing yellow" located here: https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...nomic-indicator-is-now-flashing-yellow.39127/.  I don't know if you folks can make sense of it.  Also, if the BYH admin goddesses decide it is no appropriate for this forum, then I have saved a copy and can send it to you folks who are interested.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

I would be way more concerned about moisture in the hydraulic fluid than dust.
The fill port is usually located toward the back,  above the differential so it can easily be used as a hydraulic return port if a 3rd or 4th aux control valve is added.
The roadway looks good. It might get a little messy the first time it rains on it good, but it will compact down real firm afterwards.


----------



## Baymule

Your new road is awesome! You will enjoy it very much, it's no fun getting stuck in the mud.


----------



## Mike CHS

That new road was some dollars well spent.


----------



## Rammy

Mike CHS said:


> That new road was some dollars well spent.


Not to mention less wear and tear on STA's back.


----------



## Baymule

Congrats STA!! Youu have 100 pages on your journal! You are officially a blabberfingers! (so are we)


----------



## RollingAcres

Baymule said:


> Congrats STA!! Youu have 100 pages on your journal! You are officially a blabberfingers! (so are we)



Pretty soon he'll catch up to @Latestarter !


----------



## Bruce

That will take some doing! We all better post a lot here to help out.


----------



## RollingAcres

Good idea Bruce! One good way to get started on that, someone ask a question for others to answer, or start a discussion topic.


----------



## Baymule

What are your favorite trees and why?

Dogwood. I love the delicate white blooms in the woods in early spring.

Redbud. We have several on our place. They are a welcome splash of purple color in the early spring while the forest is still drab and gray.

Pear. Pear trees are the apple trees of the south. I love to can pears in a light syrup, they are so good.


----------



## RollingAcres

Red Maple - I love the auburn color of the leaves.

Coconut - My parents had a coconut tree in the backyard of the old house we grew up in. It makes me think of home and tropical beaches. 

Weeping Willow - I just love the look of it.

Hickory - I like the Shagbark Hickory, the barks look cool. We also like to harvest the bark to make shagbark hickory tea.


----------



## Mike CHS

My favorite is the Southern Live Oak and the most fantastic one I have ever seen is on John's Island, SC (outside Charleston).  The picture only shows 1/4 of the tree.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Baymule said:


> Congrats STA!! Youu have 100 pages on your journal! You are officially a blabberfingers! (so are we)


Thanks.  I didn't realize I was that far along.  I guess I have provided more comic relief than I realized.  



RollingAcres said:


> Pretty soon he'll catch up to @Latestarter !


No way.  Mr @Latestarter is the master and everyone else is an imitation!

We love dogwoods and red bud trees as well.  When we resided in Georgia, one of our favorite short vacations was to drive up to North Carolina or Tennessee to see the fall colors in the Appalachians.  It was SO BEAUTIFUL!  I think my two favorites are sweetgum trees (for the fall colors and shape of the leaves) and pine trees.  We had a lot of pines in our yard at our house in Georgia, and I absolutely loved them.  When we first bought the house, the previous owner had planted holly bushes.  I HATE holly bushes, or just about any plant with thorns -- except roses.  So I dug them up and planted big growing azaleas.  They were absolutely beautiful and thrived under the pine trees.  When we moved to McKinney, we planted a sweetgum tree on our anniversary.  There were holly bushes there, too, but I didn't dig them up, because the homeowner's association had to approve changes to outside landscaping.  There was no way I was going to the expense of amending the soil to change it from alkaline to acidic and plant azaleas only to have the homeowner's association tell me that it didn't match their approved landscape plans.  I endured those holly bushes for 17 years.  Now we live where there is no $%@&! homeowner's association and I can plan what I d*** well please!

Yesterday when we first got up at 5:15, it was 70 on the front porch and the winds were calm.  By 7 it was 43 with strong winds and rain.  By 8 it was 34, with wind and rain.  The tractor dealer called at 12:00 yesterday, saying that they were finished servicing the tractor, so I left right away.  It was 28 with snow flakes falling occasionally.  When I got back from Fort Smith I noticed that was a dusting of snow on the Flood mountains (elevation ~2400 ft) and on Mount Magazine (elevation 2700+ ft):

  

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> because the homeowner's association had to approve changes to outside landscaping.


No thank you. I don't need someone to tell me what I can or can't do on my own property.


----------



## greybeard

Baymule said:


> What are your favorite trees and why?


dead  burned ones


----------



## Wehner Homestead

Acorn Trees


There’s a story. I’ll let everyone digest on that concept for a bit then come back and fill y’all in.


----------



## Rammy

I love cliffhangers!


----------



## greybeard

Yeah, I just love 'em..goodbye chainlink fence...





This one came very close to killing me. When I completed the 2nd cut, the tension in the powerlines came within an inch of taking my head off as they sprang back up..the powerline poles on both ends had just bent in toward the fallen tree like a bow with the lines being the bowstring. That slung Part A about 20 yards up and over and missed my pickup by just a few feet.


----------



## Baymule

GB, you are real talented when it comes to trees!


----------



## greybeard

Baymule said:


> GB, you are real talented when it comes to trees!


Yep, but...Note the dates on the photos. "I" didn't cause that damage..


----------



## Bruce

Aren't we supposed to let the power company deal with downed lines?


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Aren't we supposed to let the power company deal with downed lines?


Ike hit overnight on the 13th. Took the picture on the 14th. I figured 11 days was long enough to wait, and when I called again 10 days later, they said it might be 2 more weeks &  I decided I had enough, as I was tired of carrying 50lb sacks of feed 1/4 mile.


----------



## RollingAcres

Wehner Homestead said:


> Acorn Trees
> 
> 
> There’s a story. I’ll let everyone digest on that concept for a bit then come back and fill y’all in.


Still waiting......


----------



## Rammy




----------



## Bruce

greybeard said:


> Ike hit overnight on the 13th. Took the picture on the 14th. I figured 11 days was long enough to wait, and when I called again 10 days later, they said it might be 2 more weeks &  I decided I had enough, as I was tired of carrying 50lb sacks of feed 1/4 mile.


I can see that! I guess they figured you were REAL low priority.


----------



## greybeard

The list was about 5 million long and I'm pretty sure I wasn't no wheres near the top.


----------



## Mike CHS

When Hurricane Ivan hit Pensacola, it centered right over my house not far from Pensacola Bay.  We were at the end of the grid and got power on day 32.  It would have been up to two weeks longer but I told the boss of the survey crew when they came by that I had a bunch of ribs that I needed to cook up and they were there the next day.

They had been eating on their feet for all that time so they were ready for some home cooking.


----------



## Rammy

Smart move, Mike. I bet they tasted great and Im sure the crew was real appreciative!


----------



## RollingAcres

Rammy said:


> Smart move, Mike. I bet they tasted great and Im sure the crew was real appreciative!


X2!


----------



## greybeard

Mike CHS said:


> When Hurricane Ivan hit Pensacola, it centered right over my house not far from Pensacola Bay.  We were at the end of the grid and got power on day 32.  It would have been up to two weeks longer but I told the boss of the survey crew when they came by that I had a bunch of ribs that I needed to cook up and they were there the next day.
> 
> They had been eating on their feet for all that time so they were ready for some home cooking.


I'd have cooked a whole cow if I thought it would speed things up any. 
I didn't cut the trees to restore power tho, I did it because they were blocking my roads and I couldn't get in and out.  Lines were down for miles and miles around and all that had to be fixed before power could reach my place, and of course, Houston meroplex area had to come first....losing Houston's customers was taking a huge chunk of $$ out of the power company's wallet.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Yesterday my Beautiful Gal and I had the pleasure of having lunch with Miss @goatgurl and her sister Miss Jackie.  It was really nice to finally get to meet them.


----------



## Mike CHS

She is one of those people that makes you feel like you have already met her.


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Yesterday my Beautiful Gal and I had the pleasure of having lunch with Miss @goatgurl and her sister Miss Jackie.  It was really nice to finally get to meet them.


Isn't meeting your forum friends THE BEST!! ?


----------



## Rammy

Im wondering why he hasnt posted any pics.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Sorry, but @Mike CHS wasn't here to hold his arm in front of my face to protect you.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Sorry, but @Mike CHS wasn't here to hold his arm in front of my face to protect you.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Sorry, but @Mike CHS wasn't here to put his arm in front of my face to protect you.


----------



## Rammy

x3 because of the triple posts.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Yesterday, my Beautiful Gal and I went to Texarkana, TX and back, to pick up a mirror from the house of my wife's next older sister, Treasa.  They have a contract on their house and are supposed to close Mar 1.  Her husband James has already retired as of Jan 31, and Treasa will retire Mar 14.  They plan to go RVing full-time for at least a year.  They will get to experience the life that my Beautiful Gal and I contemplated but backed out of and bought the place here in Arkansas.

On the drive we were amazed at how the vegetation changed in the 120+ miles from our place to Texarkana.  When we left it was ~38º F, and by the time we got to Texarkana it was 57º F.  What got my attention, though was that the trees and bushes were already blooming out.  Here near Booneville only the daffodils are blooming.  Near Texarkana all kinds of trees and bushes were blooming.  I better get busy cleaning out the briars behind the shop before they start greening up and much harder to cut.

My wife and I recently finished 3 different books.  The first, _The Nature Fix - Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative_, by Florence Williams, shows what I think is obvious to most people on this forum -- that spending time in nature makes us happy.  I know that as long as I can remember during our almost 44 years of marriage, whenever my Beautiful Gal and I have gone on vacation, I have always wanted to get out in nature.  Now here at out home, we get to live it full-time.

The second book, _She Has Her Mother's Laugh - The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity_, by Carl Zimmer, is a VERY interesting book about heredity.  It also is a very LONG book.  He discusses many different aspects of heredity, including mosaicism (which I had never heard of), chimeras (which I had heard of), identical twins studies, etc.  The only omission I thought odd was he failed to mention the Minnesota studies of identical twins, including the works of Dr. Nancy Segal, of which we have read several.  For example, Dr. Segal shows that religiosity -- the intensity of which religious beliefs are held -- is 90% determined by genes.  (The particular beliefs are determined by environment.)  Despite this omission, we still really enjoyed this book.  A more readable book and equally interesting is _When a Gene Makes You Smell Like a Fish - And Other Tales About the Genes in Your Body_, by Lisa Seachrist Chiu.  I was amazed and often amused by learning about so many of the different effects that genes can have on their phenotypes.  She discusses hemophilia and how that came about, and she also tells about the ailments of King George III, who reigned in England when the United States declared its independence.  I highly recommend this book.

The book we just finished is titled _Breaking and Entering - the Extraordinary Story of a Hacker named "Alien"_, by Jeremy N. Smith.  It is about a computer security expert and how she learned her craft.  It showed just how vulnerable our computer systems really are.

That's all for now.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> The book we just finished is titled _Breaking and Entering - the Extraordinary Story of a Hacker named "Alien"_, by Jeremy N. Smith. It is about a computer security expert and how she learned her craft. It showed just how vulnerable our computer systems really are.


Hmmm sounds interesting. I might see if i can find it in the library.

I love being in the nature. It is my happy place .

What type of books do you normally read? I prefer fiction over non fiction. Lately it's been murder mystery.


----------



## farmerjan

Got on the kick for the "Scarpetta" books by Patricia Cromwell... and I really like the Laura Griffin books, "The Tracers" series.   I like Elizabeth Lowell books too.  Then I'll get on a  "romance" kick.  I read several magazines every month on cattle related stuff.


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> The book we just finished is titled _Breaking and Entering - the Extraordinary Story of a Hacker named "Alien"_, by Jeremy N. Smith. It is about a computer security expert and how she learned her craft. It showed just how vulnerable our computer systems really are.


The next great World War will be fought with bytes, not bullets or bombs, and the early 'shots' have already been fired.
Few will actually die a physical death, but a great % of the populations of developed nations, (especially our own) will find themselves  prostrate on a cold dark floor in a fetal position, softly & incessantly whimpering, as their thumbs desperately press non-responsive keys on the hand  held devices that have become as much a part of their life as breathing and seeing..


----------



## farmerjan

Just a correction, it is Patricia  CORNWELL not cromwell.  I thought something looked wrong, but couldn't see it til I looked at one of the books. 

@greybeard is right.  Today's generation, that are sooooo good with the electronics, will "die" if they cannot use them on a minute/hourly/daily basis.  And with the increasing populations, and building of houses/condos etc.,  they all go to the gym and can't see that good old fashioned "exercise" is  better for them.  Plus having to work for something they want or need.  It is the need thing that will get them because they won't know how to provide for themselves, or to put food up, or save for future needs. 

Along that line of thinking, and I am not trying to get too political here so please don't anyone take offense;  There is a scary direction that this country is heading.   I am all for helping my neighbor.  I am not for this "take from the rich and "spread the wealth" that I have worked so hard for.  We need to be compassionate, and I am all for some immigration, but as the current President says, it needs to orderly and we need to allow in those who are willing to follow the principles that this country was founded on.  We can always use people who are willing to work and CONTRIBUTE to this country in a positive way.
All that said, there is an author that I read.  William W. Johnston.  He has written alot of books, the Mountain Man series and others.  Some are set back in the early days of this country.  Many are a bit,   "out there",  like the Mountain man series.  But he also has some set in "today's time".   Invasion USA,  Jacknife, Phoenix Rising, American Jhiad,  and some others.    They are very good examples of what CAN happen with this country getting complacent with the illegals, and other factions that are being seen in this country.  Some of it is  probably a little exaggerated, but I don't think that much.  I know a person that has a boyfriend that does covert stuff, it can be very ugly from what little she can talk about.  I don't doubt for a minute that this kind of stuff goes on.  The thing is, it shows that the mindset of so many of the "younger generation" just doesn't really treasure or respect our country and the freedoms that were fought for.  @ greybeard being one of our veterans, and @Mike CHS , and @Latestarter  just being the first three I can think of.  
The thing is that we are dealing with cultures that do not respect us, that do not respect women as individuals, and believe in things that are just not what most of the American principles stand for.  We can be taken down so easily in the "cyberworld" and then it is not far to slowly just totally controlling the masses.  Once it gets to that point, the ones that will be saying "wait a minute" will be killed because they will start to realize that it has gotten out of hand,  and it might be too late. 
It scares me.  I won't live long enough to see it probably, but the next generation will be destroyed if we don't learn to do better for ourselves, and not rely on "someone else" to do for us.  I guess that is why so many on here want to be a little more "independent" and self sufficient, because we may be all that is standing inbetween  life and death in the future.  I am not a "doom and gloom" person per se, but try to be practical,  and the things being proposed in todays' world have my "alarms" screaming at me.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

RollingAcres said:


> What type of books do you normally read? I prefer fiction over non fiction. Lately it's been murder mystery.



While I like some fiction, I normally prefer non-fiction.  For every fiction book we read, we normally will read 9 nonfiction books.  I love to learn, and have such a wide range of interests -- primarily science, but also like history, memoirs, current affairs, etc.  On occasion, we will read a fiction book, such as _A Wrinkle in Time_.  When I was a kid, I spent my spending money on nonfiction books.  There was a series of books aimed at 8th grade level or so that could be read in a day or two that I would buy once a week when we went to the grocery store.  Topics ranged from geology, topology, the making of the atom bomb, etc.  I remember the last book in that series that I bought that discussed life, including the theory of evolution.  We were a fundamentalist Protestant Christian family, and when I showed my mom what the book said, she said the book was of the Devil.  I then threw away every one of those books for fear that the Devil was deceiving me.  (Oh, well, she meant well.)  But despite that setback, I never lost my interest in learning.  After reaching adulthood I have hundreds of books, including several on evolution.  Especially since retiring, my Beautiful Gal and I have read A LOT of books, since we don't watch TV.  Amazon is making a killing from us since we usually read a Kindle version of a book, as it is so convenient to download a sample, read that, and if the sample is good then download the book.  If the sample is not good, then we will read another sample.  Right now we are reading samples to find the next book we want to read.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Rammy

farmerjan said:


> Just a correction, it is Patricia  CORNWELL not cromwell.  I thought something looked wrong, but couldn't see it til I looked at one of the books.
> 
> @greybeard is right.  Today's generation, that are sooooo good with the electronics, will "die" if they cannot use them on a minute/hourly/daily basis.  And with the increasing populations, and building of houses/condos etc.,  they all go to the gym and can't see that good old fashioned "exercise" is  better for them.  Plus having to work for something they want or need.  It is the need thing that will get them because they won't know how to provide for themselves, or to put food up, or save for future needs.
> 
> Along that line of thinking, and I am not trying to get too political here so please don't anyone take offense;  There is a scary direction that this country is heading.   I am all for helping my neighbor.  I am not for this "take from the rich and "spread the wealth" that I have worked so hard for.  We need to be compassionate, and I am all for some immigration, but as the current President says, it needs to orderly and we need to allow in those who are willing to follow the principles that this country was founded on.  We can always use people who are willing to work and CONTRIBUTE to this country in a positive way.
> All that said, there is an author that I read.  William W. Johnston.  He has written alot of books, the Mountain Man series and others.  Some are set back in the early days of this country.  Many are a bit,   "out there",  like the Mountain man series.  But he also has some set in "today's time".   Invasion USA,  Jacknife, Phoenix Rising, American Jhiad,  and some others.    They are very good examples of what CAN happen with this country getting complacent with the illegals, and other factions that are being seen in this country.  Some of it is  probably a little exaggerated, but I don't think that much.  I know a person that has a boyfriend that does covert stuff, it can be very ugly from what little she can talk about.  I don't doubt for a minute that this kind of stuff goes on.  The thing is, it shows that the mindset of so many of the "younger generation" just doesn't really treasure or respect our country and the freedoms that were fought for.  @ greybeard being one of our veterans, and @Mike CHS , and @Latestarter  just being the first three I can think of.
> The thing is that we are dealing with cultures that do not respect us, that do not respect women as individuals, and believe in things that are just not what most of the American principles stand for.  We can be taken down so easily in the "cyberworld" and then it is not far to slowly just totally controlling the masses.  Once it gets to that point, the ones that will be saying "wait a minute" will be killed because they will start to realize that it has gotten out of hand,  and it might be too late.
> It scares me.  I won't live long enough to see it probably, but the next generation will be destroyed if we don't learn to do better for ourselves, and not rely on "someone else" to do for us.  I guess that is why so many on here want to be a little more "independent" and self sufficient, because we may be all that is standing inbetween  life and death in the future.  I am not a "doom and gloom" person per se, but try to be practical,  and the things being proposed in todays' world have my "alarms" screaming at me.



Totally agree with you. People have become too complacent. Whats happening isnt an accident. Its been planned for years.


----------



## Rammy

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> While I like some fiction, I normally prefer non-fiction.  For every fiction book we read, we normally will read 9 nonfiction books.  I love to learn, and have such a wide range of interests -- primarily science, but also like history, memoirs, current affairs, etc.  On occasion, we will read a fiction book, such as _A Wrinkle in Time_.  When I was a kid, I spent my spending money on nonfiction books.  There was a series of books aimed at 8th grade level or so that could be read in a day or two that I would buy once a week when we went to the grocery store.  Topics ranged from geology, topology, the making of the atom bomb, etc.  I remember the last book in that series that I bought that discussed life, including the theory of evolution.  We were a fundamentalist Protestant Christian family, and when I showed my mom what the book said, she said the book was of the Devil.  I then threw away every one of those books for fear that the Devil was deceiving me.  (Oh, well, she meant well.)  But despite that setback, I never lost my interest in learning.  After reaching adulthood I have hundreds of books, including several on evolution.  Especially since retiring, my Beautiful Gal and I have read A LOT of books, since we don't watch TV.  Amazon is making a killing from us since we usually read a Kindle version of a book, as it is so convenient to download a sample, read that, and if the sample is good then download the book.  If the sample is not good, then we will read another sample.  Right now we are reading samples to find the next book we want to read.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


If you get Prime, you can read all the books you want for free.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Rammy said:


> If you get Prime, you can read all the books you want for free.



We are a member of Prime, and there are only some books we can get for free, but not all that many.  Of those that are free, there is a reason that they are free -- they usually are not any good.  How do you get all of your books for free?  Are there different levels of Prime membership?  It would save us a lot of money in book costs if we could get all of the books for free.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

farmerjan said:


> Just a correction, it is Patricia  CORNWELL not cromwell.  I thought something looked wrong, but couldn't see it til I looked at one of the books.
> 
> @greybeard is right.  Today's generation, that are sooooo good with the electronics, will "die" if they cannot use them on a minute/hourly/daily basis.  And with the increasing populations, and building of houses/condos etc.,  they all go to the gym and can't see that good old fashioned "exercise" is  better for them.  Plus having to work for something they want or need.  It is the need thing that will get them because they won't know how to provide for themselves, or to put food up, or save for future needs.
> 
> Along that line of thinking, and I am not trying to get too political here so please don't anyone take offense;  There is a scary direction that this country is heading.   I am all for helping my neighbor.  I am not for this "take from the rich and "spread the wealth" that I have worked so hard for.  We need to be compassionate, and I am all for some immigration, but as the current President says, it needs to orderly and we need to allow in those who are willing to follow the principles that this country was founded on.  We can always use people who are willing to work and CONTRIBUTE to this country in a positive way.
> All that said, there is an author that I read.  William W. Johnston.  He has written alot of books, the Mountain Man series and others.  Some are set back in the early days of this country.  Many are a bit,   "out there",  like the Mountain man series.  But he also has some set in "today's time".   Invasion USA,  Jacknife, Phoenix Rising, American Jhiad,  and some others.    They are very good examples of what CAN happen with this country getting complacent with the illegals, and other factions that are being seen in this country.  Some of it is  probably a little exaggerated, but I don't think that much.  I know a person that has a boyfriend that does covert stuff, it can be very ugly from what little she can talk about.  I don't doubt for a minute that this kind of stuff goes on.  The thing is, it shows that the mindset of so many of the "younger generation" just doesn't really treasure or respect our country and the freedoms that were fought for.  @ greybeard being one of our veterans, and @Mike CHS , and @Latestarter  just being the first three I can think of.
> The thing is that we are dealing with cultures that do not respect us, that do not respect women as individuals, and believe in things that are just not what most of the American principles stand for.  We can be taken down so easily in the "cyberworld" and then it is not far to slowly just totally controlling the masses.  Once it gets to that point, the ones that will be saying "wait a minute" will be killed because they will start to realize that it has gotten out of hand,  and it might be too late.
> It scares me.  I won't live long enough to see it probably, but the next generation will be destroyed if we don't learn to do better for ourselves, and not rely on "someone else" to do for us.  I guess that is why so many on here want to be a little more "independent" and self sufficient, because we may be all that is standing inbetween  life and death in the future.  I am not a "doom and gloom" person per se, but try to be practical,  and the things being proposed in todays' world have my "alarms" screaming at me.



You would be hard pressed to find someone who would  agree with you more !   You are a wise woman farmerjan....


----------



## Rammy

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> We are a member of Prime, and there are only some books we can get for free, but not all that many.  Of those that are free, there is a reason that they are free -- they usually are not any good.  How do you get all of your books for free?  Are there different levels of Prime membership?  It would save us a lot of money in book costs if we could get all of the books for free.


When I had Prime, all the kindle books were free. It had unlimited. If you have Prime, you should have thousands of books available.

Just checked. I might be getting it mixed up with Kindle Unlimited. Its 10 dollars a month. I have the Kindle App on my Ipad and phone. Its cheaper than buying a Kindle device.


----------



## Bruce

Library STA!!!


----------



## B&B Happy goats

....oh BRUCE .......


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Rammy said:


> Just checked. I might be getting it mixed up with Kindle Unlimited. Its 10 dollars a month. I have the Kindle App on my Ipad and phone. Its cheaper than buying a Kindle device.



We are members of Kindle Unlimited.  While they have A LOT of fiction books, they have few non-fiction books, mostly biography and history.  We have read a few of those books, but the selection is small.



Bruce said:


> Library STA!!!



That would be great if there was a library near us worth anything.  While I haven't gone to the library, the small libraries I have been to usually have mostly fiction.  I suspect that the library over in Fort Smith is quite a bit larger, but it is so far that it is cheaper to buy them from Amazon than to drive to Fort Smith.  Oh, well, Amazon is cheaper than any satellite TV package we could buy and a whole lot more educational.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## RollingAcres

Totally agree with you @farmerjan !

@Senile_Texas_Aggie some libraries also have e-books that you can borrow. I'd much prefer holding an actual book when reading but most of the time I just read it on my phone. It's more convenient, especially at night, I don't have to turn on the light to read.


----------



## animalmom

I want the feel of the book in my hands, not some electronic device...  'taint natural. 

My favorite website for books is thriftbooks.com.  If you don't mind a used book the site is very good.  They have lots of "ex-library".  I've gone through all of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series at $3.79 a book.  Now I'm working my way through a few other authors with about a 50/50 split between fiction and non fiction.  Free shipping over $10.00!


----------



## Rammy

My Mom has recently bought alot of books from that sight. Cheap place for books and in good shape.


----------



## Bruce

STA, a lot of libraries are part of a group, you can have a book you want sent to your local library from a larger library.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

animalmom said:


> My favorite website for books is thriftbooks.com.



I'll check out that web site.



Bruce said:


> STA, a lot of libraries are part of a group, you can have a book you want sent to your local library from a larger library.



I'll stop by there and see what they have to offer.

Thanks to all for your comments.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## farmerjan

I do alot of my book buying at the local Goodwill stores.  $1.00 for paperbacks, $2.00 for hard cover.  Many of the hardbacks are ex-library too.  It does take a little time to peruse the shelves and they are getting new books all the time. The Salvation Army store has them for $.50 for paperbacks.  They are way on the other side of town and a pain to go through the traffic to get to,  so I don't often go there.  But I do hit the Goodwill stores and there are 2 that I go by frequently due to their location when I am testing.  Then there are 3 when I head south to test those couple of herds so try to make sure I have time to stop most trips. I also buy 99% of my jeans there.  $4.50 a pair sure beats even Walmart prices. I do donate to them too when I have decent stuff.


----------



## Wehner Homestead

Sorry that I left y’all hanging for that long. I meant to finish the story later that day or the next. 

Anyway...acorn trees! 

There’s a tree right off the deck that’s by the kitchen door. This is the door most people use to come and go from our house. Our first year here, there was this loud ping every so often. Turns out it was acorns falling and hitting the deck. 

DH was discussing his discovery with my dad. They are both engineers and were talking about the sound the acorns make, etc. DH then mentioned that he’d rather have oak trees instead of acorn trees since the acorns fall and cause the noise and mess on the deck. 

I thought my dad was going to fall down from shock. His jaw dropped open then he started laughing and couldn’t stop. DH has no idea what this was all about. I finally asked what they were talking about and DH started saying some of the comments and mentioned acorn trees again. I started laughing. My mom was then added to the conversation and couldn’t stop laughing either. DH was still lost. 

We finally stopped laughing enough for one of us explained that acorns come from oak trees and that there is no such thing as acorn trees before busting out in stitches again. 

DH was in shock. No one had ever said anything to give him any idea that oak trees and acorns were synonymous. Acorn trees are still a good joke around here. 

I hope I’ve finally provided you with a good laugh and redeemed myself.


----------



## RollingAcres




----------



## CntryBoy777

Ya just gotta luv it!!!.....


----------



## Bruce

Does he think that milk is made in plastic containers in the back of the grocery store? 
Poor guy, we are all ignorant of many things.


----------



## RollingAcres

Bruce said:


> Does he think that milk is made in plastic containers in the back of the grocery store?


Yes and chocolate milk comes from brown cows. lol


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Does he think that milk is made in plastic containers in the back of the grocery store?
> Poor guy, we are all ignorant of many things.


Everyone knows real milk comes from almonds and soybeans....
(where's the vomit emoticon when ya really need it?)


----------



## RollingAcres

greybeard said:


> Everyone knows real milk comes from almonds and soybeans....


And coconuts...


----------



## Bruce

Right here! 
Though I guess there really isn't any vomit there. Oh well.

Apparently people who "milk" almonds, oats, soybeans, coconuts, etc can no longer use the word "Milk" in their packaging. I'm good with that though people have been calling the water that comes out of coconuts "coconut milk" long before all the other "milks" came out.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

It's been awhile since I posted on my own journal so I thought I would let you folks know what we have been up to.

scrap iron
Last Thursday I decided that it would be quite a while before the path into the junk area behind the pond would dry out enough to get the rest of the junk out of there, so I decided to take the junk I had moved into the pasture to a scrap metal place in Fort Smith.  It turned out that what was in the pasture completely filled my trailer, so it was good.  The scrap metal place took almost all of what I had loaded onto the trailer.  They didn't take two old deer feeders, nor the lining for an above ground swimming pool, but they took just about everything else, including an old refrigerator, a V-6 short block engine, a child's backyard gym set, etc.  The weight of all of the items they tool surprised me: 1800 lbs.  They paid me $0.05 per pound, or $90 total.  It more than paid for the diesel to go over and back.

picnic area
The weather cooperated enough to let us decide to take a chance on driving the tractor across the new road into the woods where the picnic area is supposed to be.  The tractor hardly left any ruts, so we decided to remove all of the trees we had cut down and to move the bench and picnic table out to the picnic area.  I wanted to take a picture of my Beautiful Gal sitting at the table, but she insisted that she take a picture of me.  Fortunately for Miss @Rammy, @Mike CHS agreed to lend his arm to hide my face so that Miss Rammy would not be overwhelmed! 



tractor stuck
For the past several days my Beautiful Gal and I have been trying to clean out the area south of the shop.  It was completely overgrown with vines, briars, scrub trees, etc.  We are trying to make it not nearly as jungle-like.  I will post pictures once we finish.  Anyway, I drove the tractor into the area to grab some vines and small trees we had cut and before I realized it the left front wheel of the tractor had sunk deep into the ground, all the way to the front axle.  When I tried to back out, the left front tire and right rear tire spun.  The tractor was stuck.  Let me repeat that again: THE TRACTOR WAS STUCK.  How in the world does a person get a tractor stuck in the mud?  Apparently it takes a lot of skill to do that, and I succeeded beyond what I thought I could do.

Once I realized the tractor was stuck, I asked my Beautiful Gal to bring the Gator over and help pull the tractor out.  We put the Gator into 4x4 low gear and with my Beautiful Gal driving the Gator and me driving the tractor we tried to get the tractor unstuck.  Nothing doing.  I thought I heard the mud laughing at me as the tractor's tires continued to spin.  Well, time for the bigger gun: I positioned the F-350 dually and used a longer chain so that the truck was on more dry ground (the truck doesn't have mud tires on it).  I then put it in 4x4 low range and had my Beautiful Gal drive the truck while I drove the tractor.  This time the mud cried uncle and we got the tractor out.  Thank goodness for the 4x4 truck!  I know there has been discussion with Mr. @Bruce on his journal, but this is one reason I have a big honkin' truck.  He is smart enough not to get his tractor stuck in the mud, but I am not, so I need some real pulling power should I do something like that again.  I didn't take a picture of the tractor while it was stuck, but I did take a picture of the ruts it made once we got the tractor out.  The picture may not show it clearly, but the rut on the left is almost knee deep:


books read
We recently finished two books.  The first one is titled _Deep Creek - Finding Hope in the High Country_, by Pam Houston.  The book is about how the author bought a 120 acre ranch in Creele, CO, in 1994, when she could barely afford it (her first book had come out by that time), and how that ranch proved to be a sanctuary for her as healed from a troubled childhood.  The second book is titled _Proust and the Squid - The Story and Science of the Reading Brain_, by Maryanne Wolf.  The book is about how learning to read affects the brain, as well as about brains that have difficulty learning to read (namely, dyslixic brains). 

Miss Rammy
Finally, does anyone know what is going on with Miss @Rammy?  Her last two posts back to back sound ominous.  I hope she is OK:


Rammy said:


> RIP Joe.





Rammy said:


> I wont be back for a while. Take care everyone. Goodbye.



Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Fortunately for Miss @Rammy, @Mike CHS agreed to lend his arm to hide my face so that Miss Rammy would not be overwhelmed!






Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> How in the world does a person get a tractor stuck in the mud? Apparently it takes a lot of skill to do that


Takes no skill at all, mud isn't a good traction surface.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> He is smart enough not to get his tractor stuck in the mud, but I am not, so I need some real pulling power should I do something like that again.


Oh you think so huh? I came this -><- close a couple of times to calling Al to come pull my tractor out when I was digging out the pond. But you can use the bucket (or likely in your cited case, the grapple) to push down into the mud and lift the front. That should also put more weight on the rear tires so maybe they can get some grip. If you have the bucket in full dump when you put it down you can curl it to get some backward pressure. And if you have a backhoe on the tractor, you can use it to pull the tractor backwards out of the mud. There are probably other ways to self rescue if you don't have a 4x4 truck on firm ground.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> There are probably other ways to self rescue if you don't have a 4x4 truck on firm ground.


Yep, lots of different ways and I've used most of them in my lifetime.


----------



## Mike CHS

I haven't gotten mine stuck yet but more than a few times, I had to use the front end loader to get me moving again.


----------



## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> but she insisted that she take a picture of me. Fortunately for Miss @Rammy, @Mike CHS agreed to lend his arm to hide my face so that Miss Rammy would not be overwhelmed!


Oh come on!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Hey, everybody, just wanted to let everyone know that Miss @Rammy is OK.  She PMed me saying that she is OK.  I had considered PMing her to ask her but did not want to give (confirm? ) the impression that I am some creepy old man.  She is having a hard time dealing with Joe's sudden passing.  I think a lot of us are.  She will be back on the forum in due time.  Thanks to all who reached out to me to fill me in.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Thanks for letting us know STA!


----------



## Bruce

Thanks STA, let her know that we are all passing on  to her.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Not much happening here at the moment.  I did the federal and state taxes Thursday and Friday.  I'm bummed out about our federal taxes.  2018 was the first calendar year we were both completely retired.  When I withdrew a substantial amount from my rollover IRA, I told the broker to withhold so much for federal taxes.  (I withdrew it before we moved to Arkansas so that hopefully I would not have to pay Arkansas state income tax on it -- fortunately I didn't.)  But the amount I withheld for federal taxes turned out not to be enough.  I thought the income tax rate was lower than it turned out to be.  Now we are having to pay in over $3,000 in additional taxes.  Ouch!  I'll know better this year to hold out more for taxes when I make another withdrawal some time later.

Last night we finished reading our first fictional book in a while.  The name of it is _The Rosie Result_, by Graeme Simpsion.  It is the third book of a trilogy and we had already read the other two.  The books are about a man, Don Tillman, who has Asperger Syndrome (now considered part of the autism spectrum), and his girlfriend (later wife), Rosie, who is normal.  My wife and I both have loved reading the books, as it is so much like what our marriage is like.  (I have Asperger Syndrome as well -- self diagnosed -- while my wife is normal.)  Don sounds so much like I do whenever he talks and thinks, while Rosie sounds so much like my Beautiful Gal.  We both laugh often because of the striking similarities of the characters to us.  It is so enjoyable that two characters, although fictional, sound so much like us.

The latest rain is finishing and it is expected to turn quite a bit colder, so we will be hunkering down for a while longer.

Hope everyone has a good day.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Interesting to find a book that mirrors you two. How "Asperger's" are you? I have a friend who told me he found it painful, PHYSICALLY painful, to look people in the eye. He can come out a bit with people he knows well but otherwise is very quiet and not socially interactive. People assume he isn't real bright because he doesn't talk much and won't look at them when he is having a conversation. But put him on a keyboard and it is quite clear he is highly intelligent in emails. HIs current job is data analysis sorts of stuff, things where he doesn't have to interact with people much, and he is good at it.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

As for how Apsie I am, I took the Aspie quiz online about 4 years ago and scored 144 out of 200 (the threshold score is 70, I think).  My wife has always suspected there was something different about me, but when I first heard about Asperger's about 15 years ago and looked at the formal diagnostic criteria in the DSM-IV and later the DSM-V, it did not seem to fit me very well so I dismissed the idea.  Then four years ago we read a non-fiction book about a married couple whose husband had Asperger's and whose wife was normal (_Asperger's in Love_ I think was the name), and we were amazed at how it seemed to describe us.  We probably laughed or cried on every page of that book.  Since that time we have read numerous books on Asperger's and autism, to learn more about me -- and us.

I don't have any problem looking people in the eye, nor do I have a problem with physical contact, such as hugging.  Certain kinds of fabric irritate me, and I am especially sensitive to noise.  (I wore hearing protectors at work because I was unable to concentrate with people talking.  I worked in a top secret facility where we weren't allowed to bring in our own music and wear noise cancelling headphones.)  I absolutely HATED the leaf blowers in our neighborhood where we lived in McKinney.  I had to go indoors whenever they were running, which was just about every day in the spring, summer, and fall.  That is why I so much love our place in Arkansas -- so quiet and peaceful.

I am quite introverted and am not good at small talk.  I have a hard time thinking of a topic that I think would interest other people.  I become quiet in groups of more than 3 or so but am good at one-on-one conversations on topics that are interesting to me.  If I ever meet up with some BYHers, I hope they won't think I am stuck up or aloof, should I not talk much -- it's just the Apserger's or introversion taking over.  I read the book _Quiet_ by Susan Cain -- she has a TED talk about introverts -- and I felt she was writing about me.  I majored in computer science in college and spent almost my entire career in software engineering.  I enjoyed working with computers -- I could understand computers a helluva lot better than people.

I never got accustomed to rush hour traffic.  While I would no longer be surprised when I would have to panic stop from going 70 MPH, or having to crawl along in stop-and-go traffic, I never got acclimated.  On the times I had to drive to work in rush hour traffic, by the time I got to work I felt like fighting someone, all from sheer stress.  Fortunately I worked at a job where I could usually go in VERY early, 4 AM, when there was hardly any traffic, so I could avoid most of that.  Now that I am retired and live in the country near a small town, that source of stress has gone away.

I guess this is more than you asked for, but I thought I would mention it, especially should I be able to meet you as well as @CntryBoy777 and Miss Joyce, and anyone else who helps to move their stuff to Florida.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I majored in computer science in college and spent almost my entire career in software engineering. I enjoyed working with computers -- I could understand computers a helluva lot better than people.


Me too though I don't think I'm on the autism spectrum.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> If I ever meet up with some BYHers, I hope they won't think I am stuck up or aloof, should I not talk much -- it's just the Asperger's or introversion taking over.


I think that given you already "know" those people you would not be as likely to go play wallflower. You may not be the first to rush up and greet the crowd but you know we already accept and like you for who you are.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I never got accustomed to rush hour traffic. While I would no longer be surprised when I would have to panic stop from going 70 MPH, or having to crawl along in stop-and-go traffic, I never got acclimated. On the times I had to drive to work in rush hour traffic, by the time I got to work I felt like fighting someone, all from sheer stress.


Oops, you just moved yourself from "autistic" to normal!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Hey, folks, I need a bit of advice.  I have a lot of trees with limbs that hang down into the pastures.  I would like to trim those trees so that a tractor can easily pass under the limbs without a risk of having the canopy torn off like I did last year.  I am unable to reach them with the pole saw attachment with my string trimmer, as the trimmer power head wasn't really designed to have the end where the trimmer head is held higher than the power head -- gas pores out the gas tank!

I was watching two sets of YouTube videos that got me interested in using something else to trim these limbs.  The first set of videos was one by Tractor Time with Tim, where he talked about the Limbsaw.  I then watched the manufacturer's video here:





I checked out the price for this and found someone selling it for $1999.99.  A bit of an ouch for sure!  Then I found other brands that do the same thing, such as Limbinator and Limb Hog.  It could make trimming the limbs a whole lot easier.  But, still a bit on the ouch side.

The second video set was by "Outdoors with the Morgans", episode #367, where Mike is trimming a maple tree that got blown over and then hung up in another tree.  Near the end (around 8:28) he uses what appears to be a really long battery powered pole saw.  I think that would work as well but I have been unable to locate any such pole saws with that long of a reach.





So, what do you folks think I should do?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Are you stalking me? I follow both those guys as well 
Mike is using a Stihl battery operated pole chain saw. I don't know which one or what they cost:
https://www.stihlusa.com/products/pole-pruners/battery-pole-pruners/

How high do you need to get? You could let your Beautiful Lady drive the tractor while you stand in the bucket with your trimmer saw attachment. Since you follow TTWT I'm sure you've seen the episode where Christy was in the box lifted by the pallet forks to put the Christmas lights on. Or you could buy a pair of climbing spikes and a safety belt and rope 

If you took the canopy off and stood on the tractor seat, would the trimmer saw work or still dump gas all over you?

What good is the trimmer saw attachment if the saw has to be lower than the power head?


----------



## CntryBoy777

Course ya could rent a geni-boom and cut it with either saw....just have to manuvre the bucket in place....or, ask for a bid from some cutters and get them to drop them and then ya deal with the wood....may be pretty reasonable....safer....and more timely.....


----------



## Bruce

CntryBoy777 said:


> ....safer....


spoil sport!


----------



## greybeard

If you already have a fair sized weedwhacker such as Stihl makes, you can just buy the pole saw extension to go on it.
I know they are also available for Echo and Ryobi weedwhacker powerheads.





Check with the dealer first to ensure your powerhead is powerful enough to run the saw.

Edit.I didn't see this part:
"_ I am unable to reach them with the pole saw attachment with my string trimmer, as the trimmer power head wasn't really designed to have the end where the trimmer head is held higher than the power head -- gas pores out the gas tank!_"
I find that odd. The only time I've ever had any trimmer pour gas out the cap was when it had a bad cap or the vent tube inside the tank was plugged up or kinked.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

The reason I have the trimmer saw is that I bought at Lowe's Mr. @greybeard's favorite brand, Troybilt, along with the pole saw, brush blade, hedge trimmers, and of course the string trimmer.  I bought that particular model because it was a four cycle engine, which I wanted because I feared that my Beautiful Gal might unknowingly put ordinary gas in a two cycle trimmer and ruin the engine.  The Troybilt worked great with all of the attachments, and didn't spill gas whenever I held the polesaw above the power head.  But after about 5 months the Troybilt power head wouldn't start.  I took it back to Lowe's, who by that time had discontinued carrying the Troybilt.  They replaced it for free with a Husqvarna, a two cycle version.  It is the Husqvarna that leaks the gas.  I can still use the pole saw on limbs that are maybe a foot or so higher than the head, but anything higher than that and the gas comes streaming out.

My wife has said there is NO WAY she is going to drive the tractor and lift me up in the FEL bucket to trim the limbs!

As for buying the Stihl battery powered pole saw, I checked on the HTA 65 and HTA 85 at the Stihl website, but have been unable to locate a source for those models.  I would like to stay with the brands of Stihl or Dewalt, as those two brands have provided excellent service, though so far at least our Kobalt 40V hedge trimmer has worked fine.  Lowe's and Home Depot sell other brands.  Have any of you had any experience with any of the brands?  I'd like to buy one that lasts, as I have a lot of limbs to trim.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> My wife has said there is NO WAY she is going to drive the tractor and lift me up in the FEL bucket to trim the limbs!


Spoilsport! OK, fine. You drive, SHE cuts!  

Sounds like maybe the Husqvarna has a problem as @greybeard described. Maybe Lowe's can check it out. Is it still under warranty?


----------



## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> But the amount I withheld for federal taxes turned out not to be enough. I thought the income tax rate was lower than it turned out to be. Now we are having to pay in over $3,000 in additional taxes. Ouch! I'll know better this year to hold out more for taxes when I make another withdrawal some time later.


Ouch indeed! I need to get mine done. I hope to get it done later this week. 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> My wife has said there is NO WAY she is going to drive the tractor and lift me up in the FEL bucket to trim the limbs!


Smart woman!


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Just stopping by to see if your home....you are missed


----------



## Baymule

For trees like that we hire a neighbor. We just hacked out a bunch of green briars so Mr. Neighbor can get to the trees in that patch to cut them down. Payment is 5 laying hens. LOL


----------



## CntryBoy777

Sounds like a good "trade".....I wish there was someone wanting to make some spare cash and park their bucket truck here over a wknd.....I could sure put it to use!!.....


----------



## Ridgetop

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Not much happening here at the moment. I did the federal and state taxes Thursday and Friday. I'm bummed out about our federal taxes. 2018 was the first calendar year we were both completely retired. When I withdrew a substantial amount from my rollover IRA, I told the broker to withhold so much for federal taxes. (I withdrew it before we moved to Arkansas so that hopefully I would not have to pay Arkansas state income tax on it -- fortunately I didn't.) But the amount I withheld for federal taxes turned out not to be enough. I thought the income tax rate was lower than it turned out to be. Now we are having to pay in over $3,000 in additional taxes. Ouch! I'll know better this year to hold out more for taxes when I make another withdrawal some time later.



UGG!!!  We also had tax shock this year.  Did not pay enough on our quarterly tax payments.  Luckily had enough in savings accounts to pay it.  Now are budgeting to pay more next year.  Taxes suck!  Add federal to California state taxes and !!!

However, we are lucky that we had the money saved.


----------



## Bruce

Same here.


----------



## Ridgetop

Taxes . . . .


----------



## Rammy

Where, oh where, has @Senile_Texas_Aggie gone? Where, oh where, can he be?


----------



## B&B Happy goats

I don't  know....hope he is alright  ........


----------



## Rammy

Me too. I miss my stalker.

He hasnt been online since March 12th.


----------



## Bruce

Last heard from he said something non medical came up. Hope everything is OK and he returns to the herd soon.


----------



## CntryBoy777

One thing is for sure, he knows we care for/about them...and support him thru this "time".....


----------



## Baymule

Yep, I sure am missing @Senile_Texas_Aggie


----------



## Ridgetop

Wanting to hear more about his escapades!  I learn a lot from everyone whenever he asks a question.  Miss him.


----------



## RollingAcres

What they all said!


----------



## greybeard

Seems like I remember him saying they were fixing to take a road trip..

But, he was 'here' at BYH today...lurking?



> *Senile_Texas_Aggie*
> 
> 
> Senile_Texas_Aggie was last seen:
> 
> Today at 7:27 AM


----------



## Baymule

Just goes to show you, you might be "away" but you can't stay away. LOL


----------



## Bruce

Hopefully he'll have time to say "Hi, I'm fine"


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> Hopefully he'll have time to say "Hi, I'm fine"


I suspect he is ok and has been out 'doing good things'.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

STA...are ya back ? I just got a like from you buddy  we missed you


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Hi, all,

Well, just when you thought it was safe to come to BYH without being stalked, I'm BACK!

The family situation seems to have stabilized enough that I am be able to devote more time to going on-line, so I will be able to resume stalking all of you again! 

I want to thank everyone for posting on my journal and letting me know that you missed me.  A special thanks to one of the BYH members who reached out to me more than once.  That means a lot to me.  I have really missed you guys.  Now I have almost 2 months of catching up to do.  Then maybe I will be able to provide more comic relief once that is done.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## B&B Happy goats

HE'S BACK     .....you have been missed !


----------



## Bruce

Glad to know things are on the upswing STA!

Now, can you go find @newton the goat? She's been MIA for some time as well. I really hope her trig book didn't swallow her up.


----------



## Ridgetop

So glad you are back.  Glad that things are better for the family.  WE ALL MISSED YOU!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Ridgetop,

Thank you!  That means a lot to me.  I missed you and the others as well.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Ridgetop

You can stalk the Ridgetop clan any time you want!


----------



## Mike CHS

@Senile_Texas_Aggie you were missed and I am happy to see you back on.


----------



## Rammy

Glad your back!! I was getting worried. I was starting to feel relaxed without a stalker. Now I can count on you to keep me on my toes again!!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Rammy,

I am glad to be back.  I look forward to stalking you very soon!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Ridgetop

Waiting to hear what mischief you are getting up to on your farm.  How is the pond clearance and picnic area coming?


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, everyone, after saying that I was back, I had to leave again for a brief time.  This time it wasn't due to the family situation back in mid-March to mid-May.  Instead it was due to my Beautiful Gal's next older sister, Treasa, and her husband, James, coming in their RV and staying at our place for 1 1/2 weeks.  They just left this morning.

While they were here, James and I got quite a bit of tree & brush clearing done.  He loves to do chores like that, and he loves to use the chain saw.  I will drive the tractor using the grapple to move the fallen trees, shrubs, and limbs.  I also use the brush blade attachment on the string trimmer.  I improved the brush blade attachment by getting rid of the original 4-sided blade, which didn't cut worth a crap, and replacing it with a circular saw cutting blade.  Now it cuts a whole lot better!



Ridgetop said:


> How is the pond clearance and picnic area coming?



The pond got cleared some time in August of last year.  Surprisingly, the brush hasn't started growing back all that quickly, which makes me glad.  We finished the picnic area back in February, I think.  We still have to work on the trails through the woods.

I plan on updating everyone with what we have been doing as soon as I get caught up on everyone's journals.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Glad you had a productive (2nd) time away STA.


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I improved the brush blade attachment by getting rid of the original 4-sided blade, which didn't cut worth a crap, and replacing it with a circular saw cutting blade.


Now you're talking. 
Those 3 and 4 sided things may have their place but it ain't on my place..


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Just a bit more of what has happened recently that I forgot to mention in my previous post.  First, last week my Beautiful Gal and I celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary!  Can you believe she would put up with me that long?

Second, we finally broke down and bought a wood chipper -- a Woodland Mills WC68.  It came in the day before my wife's sister and the husband came to stay with us.  I originally decided to wait until they left before trying to put it together, so we could spend more time cutting trees, bushes, and limbs.  But due to a medical problem of mine that made it difficult for me to drive the tractor (more below), we decided shortly before they left to put the chipper together.  I am glad we did, as there were some parts that required 2 people doing the work.  Once we got it assembled, we tested it on a few limbs near the shop.  It worked great.  Then as I started to put up the chipper and tractor, my BIL noticed that hydraulic fluid was leaking from the chipper's tank.  It turned out to have a hole in the tank.  I contacted the company and they are shipping a new tank to me.

We have seen a number of animals on the game camera we have at the pond where we put out corn -- deer, birds, squirrels, raccoons, opossums, etc.  But a few rather unusual animals as well:

Canadian geese:       


Mallard ducks:           

A mystery animal:     

We think the mystery animal is a black bear but aren't sure, as it never faced the camera.  The Canadian geese have left (the ingrates) but the ducks are still on the pond.

Now for the medical condition for which I would like to get some advice for treatment.  I have broken out in a bad rash in a sensitive area (the edges of my butt cheeks), which makes sitting quite painful.  I don't think it is psoriasis, which I have periodically.  I have used several different medicines to only mild benefit.  It got so bad by Thursday afternoon that I have not been able to drive the tractor for the literal pain in the butt, so I have been staying indoors.  What do you folks do to treat (and better to prevent) heat rash?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## frustratedearthmother

I only have an answer for you because my DH rode motorcycles for many years.  He and a friend once took a trip from home (south of Houston) to Mt. Rushmore on their bikes.  By the time he got home he had discovered this:







https://www.ridingwarehouse.com/Anti_Monkey_Butt_Anti_Friction_Powder_6_oz/descpage-AMBAFP.html


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Ladies love it too...It is called lady monkey butt, comes  in a pink container.....and it's  like having AC in your britches


----------



## Bruce

Canada geese and Mallard ducks aren't particularly unusual, at least not here. That really hairy black thing , my GUESS is your guess is right, probably a bear. Now you know not to go for a walk in the dark.

Re the medical condition, I have no knowledge of the product FEM and B&B mentioned though I have seen it referenced on BYC a time or two. My wife uses CeraVe cream for her dry skin/eczema. I hope you find relief for that, not being able to sit has to be really rough.


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Then as I started to put up the chipper and tractor, my BIL noticed that hydraulic fluid was leaking from the chipper's tank. It turned out to have a hole in the tank. I contacted the company and they are shipping a new tank to me.


Wow, glad your BIL caught that, sorry it wasn't right from the get go.


----------



## CntryBoy777

Well, having worked in the warehouses in Mphs, Tn....no AC thru the summer.....when ya dress for 'work' ya shake or tap a baby powder or body powder in your undies...then put your britches on....something else that may help is the put a folded bath towel in the seat....the covering of the seat doesn't "breathe" to disipate the heat....just like your arm getting stuck to a pleather chair....yo fanny is the collection spot for all the dripping sweat....changing some towels will help to soak up the water instead of your britches.....dress light.....


----------



## Ridgetop

Could it be shingles?  I have never had them, but they are very painful, and anyone who has had chicken pox can get them.


----------



## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> First, last week my Beautiful Gal and I celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary! Can you believe she would put up with me that long?


Happy belated Anniversary to you and your Beautiful Gal!


----------



## Mike CHS

44 years are definitely to be celebrated and bragged about these days!  Congratulations


----------



## B&B Happy goats

You can  use witch hazel  for soothing  the area and put aloe on it at night, but when you are out in the heat use the monkey butt powder, it really helps when you are working and sweating your butt off. 
Then when it really has cleared up completly  try the walmart equate....medicated body powder....relieves itching, cools skin, absorbs moisture and helps protect skin....for women it is great for under boobs or butt, guys just go for it, nonthing beats a nice cool comfortable bottom and guy junk on a hot summers day working !  If your skin is extra sensitive,  use corn starch...it also works


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Happy anniversary  !


----------



## Ridgetop

Happy Anniversary!  Behind every good man there is a good woman - picking up after him!


----------



## greybeard

I've probably spent more tractor seat time than most here & I've never had any of the 'butt rash" problems I have seen spoken of here. All 3 of my bigger equipment still has steel seats, with the lawn tractor being the only exception. My oldest sister spends many many hrs on her Kubota every week and she's never had problems either that I know of, other than a bum knee when she finally steps off it at the end of the day.

I spent the better part of 2 years working inside a sweltering Tyvex suit working in radiation remediation, spent years in hot engine rooms, a year in one of the hottest most humid/wet places in SE Asia with nomex flight suit on over my regular clothes, and again, never had any of this problem, nor did my twin brother.
I guess my family is just all hard axxes..


----------



## farmerjan

I have spent a fair number of hours on a tractor seat also, the Farmall H being the old steel seat, and have never had that rash problem either.  Guess I fall into the same category GB.  And we just got started making hay for this year.


----------



## CntryBoy777

Calluses don't blister either FJ and GB.....


----------



## B&B Happy goats

CntryBoy777 said:


> Calluses don't blister either FJ and GB.....


......


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

greybeard said:


> I guess my family is just all hard axxes..





farmerjan said:


> Guess I fall into the same category GB.



I guess this confirms what we already knew -- that both of you are tough  and I am a wimp .


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I guess this confirms what we already knew -- that both of you are tough  and I am a wimp .



Your no wimp STA ...some of us sweat when we work and it irratates our skin.......


----------



## Bruce

Maybe you don't have calluses on your butt because you don't sit ENOUGH


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I don't know what it is that happened this time.  I have had heat rash before, but this is far worse than I have ever recalled before.  And it wasn't all that hot while we were working -- low 80s.  I think I caused it to get worse because I was doing a good bit of grapple work.  When we were taking out the fence, we would try to pull about 20 feet or so.  Once I pulled out the fencing, I would have to drive backward to where I was putting all the fence, as I didn't want to run over the fencing with the tractor by driving forward.  I guess all of the swiveling on the seat rubbed my skin raw, as I managed to remove some layers of skin in the process.  It has been slow to heal since then.


----------



## Bruce

We are all hoping for a quick recovery STA!


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Use aloe...straight from the plant if you have a aloe plant...or get aloe gel from the store....you can also leave it in fridge, feels wonderfully  soothing. And helps heal quickly, good luck with your bummy  
BTW...ask your gal if she changed laundry detergent ????


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I may have to try the aloe.  I guess it can't hurt.  As for


B&B Happy goats said:


> ask your gal if she changed laundry detergent ????



that I know she did not do, as I do all of the grocery shopping.


----------



## greybeard

B&B Happy goats said:


> BTW...ask your gal if she changed laundry detergent ????


Now that, is a different thing. I have used some laundry detergents that made my underarm areas pretty itchy..usually the discount varieties and I always had to go back to powdered Tide for my work clothes, while wife uses something different for her clothes. Been many many times my clothes were so oily, grimy or bad I had to shuck them all off on the back porch before going into the house.

STA, I too, do all the grocery shopping, as well as all my own laundry, all the yard and property work and 99% of the cooking at my house.
Wife will help with the cattle if I really need it, but I prefer her not to be exposed to injury. It can happen really really quick.
As long as they are in the chute she can help but she isn't to go into the holding or sweep areas.


----------



## Ridgetop

Good idea on that Greybeard.  Beef steers were the only animal our kids did not raise for the fair.  We never had enough flat area to be safe with them.  DS1 always wanted to raise one and a friend offered to help him, but I did not want to take chances.  They needed to be kept in the barn during the day and turned out at night so their color wouldn't fade, and our barn is not set up for cattle.  Rams, bucks and hogs are dangerous enough for kids. DS3 raised a couple of dairy replacement heifers and showed them, but we have seen some nasty tempered (usually black Angus) steers at our Fairs.  I never bought them since I heard that nasty temperament and upset makes the meat tough.

STA - maybe you need softer undies!  Or go commando?


----------



## farmerjan

Bruce said:


> Maybe you don't have calluses on your butt because you don't sit ENOUGH


That's a good one @Bruce .  STA certainly hasn't been doing alot of sitting with all the work he has done on his place.


----------



## farmerjan

@Ridgetop ; sorry but I have to take a little offense at the comment about the black angus being nasty temperment.  Ours are some of the most even tempered and easiest beef animals to work around except maybe the Red Polls. 
If a show animal is unruly then it probably has not been worked with enough.  And I have seen some pretty high strung Limousin cattle, which now also come in black. But the breeders have worked dilligently on that and they were the first breed assoc to have disposition listed as a "heritable trait".
  There are strains of every breed that are more high strung than others, but alot comes from the amount of handling.

  Right now I have some calves that are about 6-8 mos old that come in through the creep gate for some grain.  Still on their momma's but they will be weaned in the next 2 weeks or so.  They are not all big babies, but several have learned that my petting them is pretty nice.  One is just nuts and she has been with the rest so no real rhyme or reason.  She doesn't want to be around people and will jump the fence if separated from the rest.  She will be sold even though she is a nice heifer.  She is also out of one of my quieter cows so WTH?  
Crazy acting high strung animals that have alot of adrenalin (sp?) in their system when killed,  will often be tougher.  But if angus were tough, how do you think that they would have the ability to tout all the burgers and steaks that are Certified Angus Beef? 
  Show animals of any breed and size can be cantankerous as I am sure you know with the kids showing goats or sheep or hogs.  But any animal needs alot of time and training to be shown and those that do not get it, it will show.


----------



## Ridgetop

I didn't say Angus were tough because of bad dispositions - I said that I did not buy any steers that acted wild in the ring because of the adrenalin making them tough.

Most of the steers at our Fairs were Angus.  A couple of them were Herefords.  The Herefords were always calmer.  However, it could be where the steers came from.  If you are working with Angus on a small farm and you are culling for wild crazy behavior your Angus will be calmer.  The wild one you have out of your quiet cow is a case in point. 



farmerjan said:


> One is just nuts and she has been with the rest so no real rhyme or reason. She doesn't want to be around people and will jump the fence if separated from the rest. She will be sold even though she is a nice heifer.



You plan to cull her out because you don't want that temperament.  When the kids are buying out of a feedlot they are not looking for nice temperament they are looking for a steer with show attributes.  When the FFA leader buys 10 steers or more in a lot for the students, they will probably get some that are touchy.  The people that I know that have raised Angus say they are more nervous than some other breeds.  BUT that doesn't mean that they all are.  One family that had tons of experience and always had well trained steers came to the fair one year with one they had to show in a special halter.  It took 4 hours to separate and load it in the stock trailer with the other 2 steers when they went to buy it.  When the family saw how it was behaving the family wanted to unload it and choose another one but the stock men refused to unload it from the trailer!  When they got it home it nearly killed the mother once (and she was experienced too) and the teenage girl had to show it in a special metal pressure halter.  She kept it completely under control and showed it beautifully.  It was a great steer and won Grand Champion. This family knew cattle and worked their steers every day, but this was a nasty tempered beast.  The whole family cheered when they loaded it on the livestock truck after the fair.  Another one at another fair was so bad that it couldn't even be brought into the auction ring.  However, the kid that owned that one was not a good livestock person and did not treat it right. 

Steers are dangerous, not because all of them are mean, but because of their size and unpredictability.  We have a friend that raises Angus show cattle.  His are somewhat easy to handle.  DS1 had a beautiful show Hampshire ram that was the size of a small pony and he was the most vicious animal I have ever seen.  He would charge you and take you out if he could.  We have owned other rams that I did not turn my back on but were fine.  You couldn't be near that Hamp ram without a strong fence between you and you had to halter him to be able to get near him.  That was a real trick to do too.  Luckily I am crafty.


----------



## greybeard

farmerjan said:


> But if angus were tough, how do you think that they would have the ability to tout all the burgers and steaks that are Certified Angus Beef?


I can answer that..
In advertising, ya can say anything, and, there is a demographic that will eat every word right up. "New and improved" 
Black hide fever...evidently, extremely contagious.

Watch late night infomercials or just read some of the claims made on any internet board regarding cures, preventatives, potions, lotions, salves and balms and you will find things that have absolutely zero proof about their efficacy but if their fanboys & girls repeat the claim loudly and often enough people will begin to believe every word of it as gospel tho the real studies at best, only use words like "may", "might"  "seem to".
I saw a claim about a virus just the other day that goes against every bit of scientific knowledge known, yet it will stand as typed and someone somewhere will swallow it hook, line, and sinker.

And you are right. Animals slaughtered under extreme duress will have triggered chemical/hormonal reactions (adrenaline for one) and the meat doesn't hang/cure as tender as it should and that applies to all breeds and species.
I now have some black hide Xs in my herd but not because I wanted Angus influence..They were all but giving them away at the local sale a few months ago when prices were way down and I knew I could make $$ on them just by putting a few lbs on them with free spring grass.

Everyone should raise a few tigerstripe mommas once in their life just to have a benchmark to judge what docility isn't..


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Hey, everyone.  Has anyone heard from Miss @babsbag?  I went to her journal to get caught up and noticed that she hadn't posted since early April.  I knew she was going through a rough time with her barn having collapsed from the snow and the mud from all of the rain she has gotten.  Then after reading her journal I saw where she was having LGD problems.  I am kinda worried about her.  I fear she may decide to sell out her dairy just to end all of the hassle she has had recently.  And she worked so hard all of that time to get it up and running, passing all of the state inspections, etc.  I hope she is OK.

Also, I forgot to post these pictures earlier of some deer doing something I am not sure what it means:

   
Comments?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## CntryBoy777

Being a herd animal and they appear to be similar in age, so it could be play between them....but, probably a scuffle over the leaves they are after on the limbs....Comet and Lightning would do that.....Comet had to put his front hooves on something to stand and eat....if one of us wasn't available he would stand on Lightning....or try to....Lightning could stand and balance on his rear ones......


----------



## farmerjan

@Ridgetop ;  I guess they do things different here in Va as far as show steers since most all are bought private from people who raise "club calves" just for the kids to show.  Have never heard of anyone buying them out of a feed lot but maybe that is the way it is done out your way.  Both our big market animal show and the 4-H and FFA shows are pretty strict about dispositions in the ring as anyone knows a 100 lb kid cannot control a 1200 lb steer if it doesn't want to be.  That is interesting that the FFA leader is buying a "lot" of steers for the kids to show. 
We have sold a few steers over the years for kids to show.  Never placed Champ but always did good enough to be in the top half or 20% .  And we raise commercial cattle. I wouldn't let a kid have an animal that had a questionable disposition.  But again, I am not a big fan of the ones that spend this huge amount of money just to have an animal win a ribbon.  That may help the kids pocketbook, but it is not a fair way to introduce them into the REAL WORLD of cattle farming.  I realize that this gives the kids a good amount of money to put towards a college fund, but the kids are not learning about the real life day to day costs and returns of farming.
I do agree that I have seen mostly quiet animals of the hereford breed.  And if you want something that will take care of it's calf and be VERY PROTECTIVE, and sometimes difficult to work with,  something like a tigerstripe or anything with some brahma in it will certainly fit the bill.
@greybeard  I was trying to make a simple point, we both know all about the "certified angus beef" labeling and what it allows.  The fact is if they were all crazy, then the beef would not be very palatable and the certification would suffer overall.


----------



## greybeard

oh, the 'crazy' aint on the animal side of things.. 

I guess you've seen the current docility discussion?
https://cattletoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=119541


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Also, I forgot to post these pictures earlier of some deer doing something I am not sure what it means


They are obviously dancing the minuet!


----------



## Ridgetop

The kids at our local Fair rarely made big bucks on anything.  Often they barely broke even.  Some years the add-ons were the only money they netted.  They did not pay big bucks for anything either because they did not have the money.   Many of them were inner city kids, living in apartments, and the FFA livestock program was very good for them.  It turned around some that were heading for trouble in gangs.  As far as buying a lot of animals, if the leader did not buy the market animals for the kids in the program and bring them back to the school the kids did not have any animals.  These were city kids so the leader found the market animals for them and the kids bought them from the FFA program.  The FFA Booster Club raised the money for the kids to borrow to buy their animals and feed, and they repaid it to the Boosters after the Fair. 

I used to bid on the FFA kids' animals because most of those kids did not have buyers.   One year I paid less for a finished lamb than the girl had paid at the college feeder lamb sale!  I bought 3 lambs that year from FFA kids because they didn't have buyers.  Even though DH had a barn full of show meat rabbits, we used to buy up all the unsold rabbit pens as well and butcher them out just so the kids did not have to take them home.  (They would not butcher them and put them in their freezers.) 

The animals that were bad tempered were the ones bought privately.   There were only a few kids who bought expensive show animals.  Their parents owned their own businesses and wrote off the difference between the price they paid and what the sales price would have been at the slaughterhouse.  They would arrange to bid on and buy each other's kids' animals for a big price that way.  Those families did not bid on any other animals.

Our own kids made a little money, but not the thousands some fairs bring.  Mostly they raised the animals because they liked doing it and it was a good lesson in economics.  It certainly taught them to appreciate the hard work done by farmers and  ranchers, and the importance of agriculture.


----------



## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I don't know what it is that happened this time.  I have had heat rash before, but this is far worse than I have ever recalled before.  And it wasn't all that hot while we were working -- low 80s.  I think I caused it to get worse because I was doing a good bit of grapple work.  When we were taking out the fence, we would try to pull about 20 feet or so.  Once I pulled out the fencing, I would have to drive backward to where I was putting all the fence, as I didn't want to run over the fencing with the tractor by driving forward.  I guess all of the swiveling on the seat rubbed my skin raw, as I managed to remove some layers of skin in the process.  It has been slow to heal since then.


I am deeply concerned about your pore, sore butt. So I went looking for a miracle cure and I found it!

https://imgur.com/gallery/cYbN3Bc


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Baymule said:


> I am deeply concerned about your pore, sore butt. So I went looking for a miracle cure and I found it!
> 
> https://imgur.com/gallery/cYbN3Bc



Your so bad @Baymule


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Ridgetop,

That is so wonderful how you and the others helped out the kids.  Sometimes all it takes is a little helping hand to keep a kid from going down a self destructive path.

Miss @Baymule,

I knew I could count on you to look after me.  Thanks for the chuckle. 

I have intended on posting this sooner, but a couple of weeks ago a pine tree at our pond blew down.  I didn't even know that it was in trouble.  Here is what it looks like on the ground and then where it appeared as viewed from the house prior to its being blown over (indicated by the arrow).  (The tree behind which the sun is rising was where we first saw the sun rise when we first moved in last year.)


    

Well, we thought we were about to identify the mystery creature that had visited earlier, as it appeared on our game camera again:
   

Unfortunately, that is the exact moment when the batteries in the game camera decided to give up the ghost!    Maybe we will get a picture of the mystery creature before the end of the year!

Nothing else going on here.  I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend.  

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

Ridgetop said:


> They needed to be kept in the barn during the day and turned out at night so their color wouldn't fade,


Huh???


----------



## greybeard

The latest pics of the mystery animal looks canine to me...


----------



## Genipher

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Miss @Ridgetop,
> 
> That is so wonderful how you and the others helped out the kids.  Sometimes all it takes is a little helping hand to keep a kid from going down a self destructive path.
> 
> Miss @Baymule,
> 
> I knew I could count on you to look after me.  Thanks for the chuckle.
> 
> I have intended on posting this sooner, but a couple of weeks ago a pine tree at our pond blew down.  I didn't even know that it was in trouble.  Here is what it looks like on the ground and then where it appeared as viewed from the house prior to its being blown over (indicated by the arrow).  (The tree behind which the sun is rising was where we first saw the sun rise when we first moved in last year.)
> 
> View attachment 62475 View attachment 62476 View attachment 62478 View attachment 62479
> 
> Well, we thought we were about to identify the mystery creature that had visited earlier, as it appeared on our game camera again:
> View attachment 62480 View attachment 62481 View attachment 62482
> 
> Unfortunately, that is the exact moment when the batteries in the game camera decided to give up the ghost!    Maybe we will get a picture of the mystery creature before the end of the year!
> 
> Nothing else going on here.  I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie



My guess (only seeing the latest pictures) is... Coyote!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Hmmm.  I suppose it could be either a dog or a coyote.  I haven't seen or heard coyotes recently, but we definitely have them around here.  I just hope whatever it is comes back and the ^%@$@^&! camera is working!


----------



## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Miss @Baymule,
> 
> I knew I could count on you to look after me.  Thanks for the chuckle.
> 
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


You are quite welcome. 



B&B Happy goats said:


> Your so bad @Baymule


Yup, don't cha love me for it!


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Baymule said:


> You are quite welcome.
> 
> 
> Yup, don't cha love me for it!


More than ever, I'm  just mad i didn't  find that cure first....sure know alot of people who need to shove it !


----------



## farmerjan

Ridgetop said:


> The kids at our local Fair rarely made big bucks on anything.  Often they barely broke even.  Some years the add-ons were the only money they netted.  They did not pay big bucks for anything either because they did not have the money.   Many of them were inner city kids, living in apartments, and the FFA livestock program was very good for them.  It turned around some that were heading for trouble in gangs.  As far as buying a lot of animals, if the leader did not buy the market animals for the kids in the program and bring them back to the school the kids did not have any animals.  These were city kids so the leader found the market animals for them and the kids bought them from the FFA program.  The FFA Booster Club raised the money for the kids to borrow to buy their animals and feed, and they repaid it to the Boosters after the Fair.
> 
> I used to bid on the FFA kids' animals because most of those kids did not have buyers.   One year I paid less for a finished lamb than the girl had paid at the college feeder lamb sale!  I bought 3 lambs that year from FFA kids because they didn't have buyers.  Even though DH had a barn full of show meat rabbits, we used to buy up all the unsold rabbit pens as well and butcher them out just so the kids did not have to take them home.  (They would not butcher them and put them in their freezers.)
> 
> The animals that were bad tempered were the ones bought privately.   There were only a few kids who bought expensive show animals.  Their parents owned their own businesses and wrote off the difference between the price they paid and what the sales price would have been at the slaughterhouse.  They would arrange to bid on and buy each other's kids' animals for a big price that way.  Those families did not bid on any other animals.
> 
> Our own kids made a little money, but not the thousands some fairs bring.  Mostly they raised the animals because they liked doing it and it was a good lesson in economics.  It certainly taught them to appreciate the hard work done by farmers and  ranchers, and the importance of agriculture.



That's really interesting about the leaders buying for the kids and many of them being inner city.  I guess being such a farming community area here, there isn't  the same situation.  I do know that there have been a few kids in 4-H that didn't have a place to raise the animals and there were farmers that would offer places to board them, or other 4-H'ers would keep them in exchange for some work tradeoff.   Most of the kids here, being more "directly from" farming folks within a generation or 2 , will buy the animals and then get sponsors to help them pay for the feed. There are alot of businesses that do the sponsor thing as it is good advertisement.  Then when they have the sale, the local stockyard/sale barn will put a "floor price" on the animal according to the current market value/price.  They will buy up all the ones that "don't get sold " for the "big money."  We have bought animals, paying the difference above the floor price and let the sale barn take them instead of taking them to slaughter.  This gave the kids more money than just floor price, and we did not have to ante up a huge price.  Plus since we raised our own animals for meat, often did not have the freezer space either.  
Yes, there are a few that "bid each others up", but it wasn't real common.  Even if it did happen, they did "pay the price".  There were also several slaughter houses in the area that would bid on the animals because they had people looking for meat and such.
Our Farm Bureau would "buy"  several, as well as the  different "farmer" insurance companies.  Also the feed companies would "buy a few" that they knew were using their particular brand of feed.  The kids did alot of letter writing asking for sponsors when they got the animals, and then when they were close to the show/sale, would write and let friends know that they were showing and selling their animals.  There was always a huge participation.  And you would get a competition between different "buyers" just in the fun of it. 
The few that we sold to kids to raise and show, we deferred the cost until they sold them.  And we always gave them a break on the calves. And those were often the ones we would bid on also because the kids would send pictures and updates on how they were doing. 
The FFA and 4-H have a poultry project in several counties where the club buys chicks of a layer breed/hybrid.  The kids that can, take home 10 to 50 all according to what they want, or have room for.  Then when the fair time comes, they bring in at least a pen of 3 for show and have to donate a minimum of 30 % for the auction.  The money they bring goes back into the "kitty" for the next years birds.  Several of the kids would raise 25 or more, and after what they had to donate back, would sell the rest as started pullets.  One young man took 50 2 years in a row, and started an egg business, after he sold the required birds.  They had to buy their own feed, or in the case of the younger kids I am sure the parents bought it.  But they had to account to the leaders for them, take care of them,  and they were checked on.  I think they had to keep a ledger of sorts showing their costs etc. Good way to teach responsibility and work ethics for them.
I commend you for buying animals that you didn't "need" and helping the kids out.


----------



## Ridgetop

We love AG and we did this to encourage the kids to try to follow careers in it.  A couple went on to be vets, and AG teachers.  Hopefully, it gave the others some experience in the growing of food and taught them to respect farmers and agriculture.  We didn't think of ourselves as doing this to be charitable or get kudos, but because we appreciated so much what the AG experience brought to our children who grew up in it.  We wanted these other kids to get a similar good experience and learn that farming and ranching is not just sitting around watching stuff grow.  While it is hard work, the satisfaction it brings you is food for your soul.  Which is a good thing when you are bone tired, hurt all over, and have to go down to the barn in the middle of the night to assist a difficult lambing!  

I required records from my 4-H project kids and required them to turn in record books.  In fact our club required every member to turn in a record book or they could not run for an office.  I ended up being the leader for most of the large livestock projects in our 4-H club, as well as the dairy goat leader.  DH was the rabbit leader.  Mainly because no one else wanted to and because no one else wanted to bother to learn about the animals.  We went to livestock seminars to learn so we could teach the kids.  We had 4 kids raising everything and super active in every aspect of 4-H so I was very strict with my children as well as project children.  No entry in showmanship, no market animal in the show, no record book, no future market animal, no thank you note to the buyer, no check.  I was known for being super strict, but for some reason the kids liked it,  They knew they could rely on me to stand up for them as long as they followed the rules.  They also knew I would come down hardest on them if they did not.  When I sold market goats or lambs, I charged half the price I could get from strangers.  If the kids worked hard (we checked with the AG teacher) we would bid on the animal and give them add-ons. 

The FFA kids only had the school farm to keep their animals.  There were no farms here any more.  Only the 4-H and Grange members could keep their animals at home.  Sadly the farms at all the schools are gone now as are the AG programs.  Pierce College was originally set up as a straight Agricultural college.  The San Fernando Valley Fair when it started was the largest Fair around.  It was started when it was called a "fat stock show".  Over 1000 animals would be exhibited by farmers and ranchers alone, then there were the separate youth livestock entries.   

By the time my children started to exhibit livestock, the college had taken the barns away from the Fair and were selling off the Fairgrounds.  We had our Fair for the next 18 years on rented premises.  By the time my children graduated we were down to just a few families and had invited youth from other Ag  Districts to show and auction.  Those kids didn't bring any buyers since they saved their personal buyers for their own larger fairs where the prices were higher.  Prices went down, entries went down, AG programs were dropped as schools looked for vacant land to put portable classrooms up.  The San Fernando Valley is so built up now that there is no AG anywhere.  Even the horsekeeping areas are being phased out.  The San Fernando Valley used to be all AG, with walnut, orange, lemon, apricot, and plum orchards, corn, tomato, and squash fields, market gardens, etc.  There were several dairies, including one across from our first house (which we bought from my grandparents).  My mother went to school with the daughter of "the asparagus king" the grower of most of the asparagus on the west coast.  The soil here in the valley is fertile, and grows anything, now it just grows buildings and parking lots.  It is pitiful.   Even the Antelope Valley which used to grow the best alfalfa has been built up.  Water prices forced farmers to cut back alfalfa fields.  Farm income dropped, and the kids did not want to farm like their parents.  

My grandparents had a couple acres where my great grandmother kept dairy goats, and poultry.  They grew a hog each year as well.  My great  grandparents lived with them and worked on the animals and gardens too.  They canned everything.  When the depression hit, the goats were sold when feed got too costly, but their garden, fruit trees, and poultry kept them fed.  As a child, my grandfather still kept ducks, and geese.   The gander was very mean and I could only go in if Grandpa went with me.  One day it chased me all over the field when I went in looking for Grandpa! 
*OOPS!  Sorry STA I didn't mean to hijack your thread!  I forget which thread I was on!*


----------



## Baymule

If city councils were wise, they would zone in farm areas, drop the taxes and keep farm land in close to their cities. Someday they might need it, but it will be too late.


----------



## greybeard

Baymule said:


> If city councils were wise, they would zone in farm areas, drop the taxes and keep farm land in close to their cities. Someday they might need it, but it will be too late.



In many socialist nations, that's exactly the way it's done. Gooberment owns the land, then leases it to it's citizens or more often than not, passes strict laws and rules how and when private landowners can do 'anything'..with their own land. 
Numerous lawsuits have been filed by landowners  in our own country to free
up land of private owners so their land can be valued properly and fairly. Most state's (and probably our federal) constitutions contain statutes that prohibit govt from setting either floors or ceilings on land valuation.

_*The nine most terrifying words in the English language are "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."*_

Yeah..right...

Reserving land for Ag is one of those 'sound good/feel good' things but we live in a more realistic and pragmatic world, and it only sounds good right up until the time the owners of that farmland realize their land would be worth hundreds or thousands more $ per acre if it wasn't zoned and restricted Ag use only.  In the real world, most farmland has increased dramatically in market value over the last 50 years, but, that increase pales in comparison to what suburban or city land has done.

Often, only a thin line on a map or a 12 ga barbed wire separates many thousands of $/ac in difference.

An example:
The land where the Astrodome/Astroworld was built was swampy cow pasture with Hereford cows on it when Roy Hofhienz bought the 500 acres for $5 million in the early 60s, (about $10,000/ac) spent $1.2 mil to do some drainage work on it, then sold Harris County 180 acres of it for the same $5mil price he had very recently paid for 500 acres. They used about 116 acres for Astrodomain. Today, the now empty 116 acres of former ag land where Astroworld also once stood is valued at just over $90 million. $776,000/acre. $2066/sq ft.

Would you want to be the owner of that 116 acres and be locked into getting only a fraction of what an adjoining land owner got for his land? I bet not. I know I wouldn't want to leave that much $$ "on the table" and wouldn't want to do it to my children or grandchildren either.

I also bet cities would have no where to expand to if their surrounding land was all restricted to ag use only.


----------



## Baymule

Well, since you put it that way, I'll just go sit in my corner and shut up.


----------



## CntryBoy777

I sure hope ya are okay over that way....with all the weather mess going thru the area....not a good combo with flooding and tornados.....just checking on ya.....


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Ridgetop said:


> *OOPS! Sorry STA I didn't mean to hijack your thread! I forget which thread I was on!*



Miss @Ridgetop, that is quite OK.  I enjoy reading your and others' posts here.



CntryBoy777 said:


> I sure hope ya are okay over that way....with all the weather mess going thru the area....not a good combo with flooding and tornados.....just checking on ya.....



Mr @CntryBoy777, thanks for checking on me.  Yes, we are fine.  Until yesterday, I had not done squat for over a week.  I had been waiting on my rear end to heal from the supposed heat rash.  While it had gotten better, it still wasn't completely healed.  I was sick of watching YouTube videos -- I caught up on all of the channels I follow, and watched every YouTube video I could find on how to use a box blade, how to build a bridge over a creek, and wanted to get back outside doing something.  My wife and I about decided that the rash on my rear end may be an outbreak of psoriasis, and if it is, there is no telling how long it will stick around.  I have had outbreaks that ended after a week, and I have had outbreaks that have lasted over a year.  So with that in mind, I put on some medicine, gritted my teeth, and got outside and got busy.

The first thing I did yesterday was to build a platform for my wood chipper.  I want to keep all of my farming equipment that has moving parts, namely the mower/shredder, the wood chipper, and of course the tractor, along with my trailer, the Gator, the two lawn mowers and the pressure washer, in my shop out of the elements, as they will last a lot longer.  But my shop is such that I didn't have room for the mower and the wood chipper without blocking access to the trailer, the Gator, and the lawn mowers.  So I bought some rollers rated for 300 lbs each (the wood chipper weighs 800 lbs) and attached those rollers to a wooden pallet.  That way I could set the wood chipper on the pallet and roll it out of the way, and then position it more easily when I wanted to attach it to the tractor.  So I did that.

Next, I reattached the mower to the tractor.  Attaching the PTO to the tractor took over 30 minutes!  I don't know what it is that I am doing wrong for it to take that long, but I finally got it attached.  After that, I went out and cut up the pine tree that had fallen down and moved the cut up pieces to a burn pile.  Then I moved a couple of piles of brush to near the shop so that I could chip it up the next time I decide to attach the wood chipper.  I piled up the rest of the brush I had cut from along the edge of the woods and burned it.  Then I decided to mow the small section of pasture between the east side of the driveway and the woods, where my BIL and I had removed old fencing.  I wanted to do that because if there was any pieces of fencing that were in that pasture, then I wanted to hit them with my shredder/mower instead of the guy who leased my land to hit them with one of his flail mowers.  It appears we did not leave any stray fencing there.

While mowing that section, I discovered that my BIL and I did not cut the limbs on the trees up high enough.  I kept hitting limbs with the canopy on my tractor.  (Fortunately, I did not rip off the canopy the way I did last year -- I think I learned my lesson from that.)  So I will need to go out and cut those limbs and then take pictures of the AFTER and then post pictures.

Well, that's all the news from Lake Woebegone.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

Ah..Lake Wobegone..
"_"the little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve, but all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average._"

(unlike the girls from the neighboring county that had so many piercings they looked like they had fallen face first into an open fishing tackle box)


----------



## Bruce

And now after all that work your entire body is so sore you've forgotten about your butt! Check out the CeraVe cream. It is a round container about 4" High and in diameter. Dark blue for the "serious" stuff, white for lighter irritation. I buy it at the grocery store in the pharmacy section.

Besides rolling things around on the pallets you can move them with pallet forks on the tractor. But you already knew that.


----------



## Ridgetop

STA:  You have really been getting a lot done!  You need a nice soft gel pillow on that tractor seat.  DH has  lost some weight and now his old bony butt hurts after sitting and driving all day!  Had to stop at a Rite Aid and buy him a gel cushion on our last trip.  For some reason, his butt lost weight but his stomach did not!    When I suggested that I would be a fat donor if it would help he suggested I should go on a diet instead!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

greybeard said:


> Ah..Lake Wobegone..
> "_"the little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve, but all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average._"
> 
> (unlike the girls from the neighboring county that had so many piercings they looked like they had fallen face first into an open fishing tackle box)



Is that where the fictional town of Millett (or maybe Mullett) was?  I can remember a couple of his shows where he talked about that town.  I miss that show.



Bruce said:


> Check out the CeraVe cream.



I will do that.  Thanks for the tip.



Bruce said:


> Besides rolling things around on the pallets you can move them with pallet forks on the tractor.



The problem with using the pallet forks is that I cannot easily get to where I want to store the chipper, which is just to the side of the north door.  Without the wheels on the pallet, I would have a hard time positioning the pallet to where I could get to the chipper with either the pallet forks or the 3 point hitch.  It looks like the wheels on the pallet will solve the problem.



Ridgetop said:


> You need a nice soft gel pillow on that tractor seat



I may try that.  I know that swiveling in the seat caused my underwear to dig into the skin, and since the skin was already drenched in sweat, it would tear at the skin.  Now I am putting some of my psoriasis medicine on it and using a bandage that I hope will provide some padding.



Ridgetop said:


> When I suggested that I would be a fat donor if it would help he suggested I should go on a diet instead!



What did he say after you decked him?  I'll bet that the only places you are fat, Miss @Ridgetop, is where it counts. 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> It looks like the wheels on the pallet will solve the problem.


Maybe you can use the tractor to shove it most of the way to where you want it.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

CntryBoy777 said:


> @Baymule , @Devonviolet ,  @greybeard , @goatgurl , and @Senile_Texas_Aggie ......and all that are in the area ahead of this front....stay Safe!!....keep us posted.....





Baymule said:


> Just checked with @goatgurl she is ok, headed to work. She said she'll check in when she gets home. She said the flooding is terrible, the worst in many many years.



We are OK here.  Got quite a bit of rain, but no flooding, not much wind to speak of.  I am a bit surprised that Miss @goatgurl is having flooding issues.  I thought that she was high up enough to not be at risk.  Maybe she is talking about the folks around Fort Smith, about 15 miles north of her and about 30 miles WNW of us.  Those poor folks are dealing with the Arkansas river flooding being the worst on record.  All of the rain that has fallen in southern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma drained into the Arkansas river and ended up at Fort Smith.  But we are OK here near Booneville.  The watershed for the nearest river, Petit Jean, is the Ouachita mountains, and while it has risen quite a bit, it is not over its banks.

Yesterday I went to cut the overhanging limbs along the woods next to the driveway.  While I was there I decided to open the gate so FedEx could deliver the replacement tank for the wood chipper.  When trying to open the gate, it didn't respond to the remote control.  I looked at the controller board and the battery indicator light was on.  So I checked the voltage on the battery and it was 13.5 volts, so the battery was OK.  When I checked the controller again, the indicator light had gone off.  When I hit the remote control to open the gate again, the receiver light flashed and the battery indicator light came back on.  Then I noticed that wires that go to the opener nearest the controller had been pulled out of the circuit board and the wire outside the box on the ground had some insulation removed from the wires.  I had mowed the previous day near that side of the gate so I figured that I had caught the wire with the mower.  I hooked up the wire again and tried opening the gate and it still would not open.

Here is where I need some adult supervision on how to diagnose the problem.  The cable from the controller board to the west side gate opener contains 4 wires: red, black, grey, and white.  My guesses as to their function are these:
+ the black wire is ground (-12V)
+ the red wire is +12V to power the mower
+ the grey and white wires are to detect the position of the motor so the controller board can stop the motor from opening or closing any more.

But the above guesses could very well be wrong.  Any ideas as to what their functions really are?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Another clue as to what is wrong or not wrong with the gate opener: I disconnected the 4 wires to the west opener from the controller board and jumpered from the red wire from the west opener to the red (+12V) and from the black wire from the opener to the black (-12V).  The gate started opening.  I then reversed the wires, connecting the red to black and black to red.  The gate started closing.  So the controller reverses the polarity to the motor to open or close the gate.  I did not test any of the other wires.  I have looked on the internet for a schematic for Ghost Controls model TDS2XP (the controller box had CBA3BA on the inside) but have not been able to find a schematic using either of those 2 designators.  Where do you folks get your schematics when you need one?  Is there something akin to Schematics R Us somewhere?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## CntryBoy777

This schematic is from pg 48 of the owner's manual....ya can download it from TSC....pdf....I just googled schenatic for Ghost control model TDS2XP......and it was one of the first options that popped up.....


----------



## Ridgetop

SOS TO GREYBEARD!!!   That man knows everything, and can explain it in detail so precise you can actually understand it!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Ridgetop said:


> SOS TO GREYBEARD!!! That man knows everything, and can explain it in detail so precise you can actually understand it!



Miss @Ridgetop, you are right -- Mr. @greybeard does seem to know everything!  A lot of folks on here know a lot more than I do.  That is why I have posted about this, hoping they might know what the problem is.

Mr. @CntryBoy777,

Thank you, but is not what I need.  I already had that diagram.  It is an installation diagram.  The diagram I am searching for is a schematic which shows what the green (what I initially misremembered as gray) and white wires are for.  Here is an example of a schematic.  It is page 1 of the 2 page schematic of my tractor's electrical system:
 


I did a bit more testing of the gate and tried the jog open and jog close for both sides of the gate.  None of them worked.  Since I had damaged only the west gate's opener wiring, the other gate should have opened and closed.  But even my earlier testing showed that at least the red and black wires going to the west gate were not broken, as my direct jumpering from 12V input to them caused the gate to open and close.  I did more reading at Ghost Controls web site and saw mention of fuses on the controller, which I failed to notice before.  But a continuity test of the fuses showed they were fine.  So I fear that I have fried the controller board. 

On a different topic, I finally remembered to get some "AFTER" pictures of along the edge of the woods next to the driveway.

Here are the before pictures, taken on 2018 Nov 05.
Near front gate, looking SSE:                 
Farther south, looking S:                       
Half way down driveway, looking S:          
At the bridge over the creek, looking SE:   

After pictures in my next post.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

After pictures.

At the gate, looking east:  

At the gate, looking southeast:  
About a 1/4 way down from the gate, looking south southeast:  
About a 1/3 of the way down, looking south:  

About 1/2 way down, looking south southeast:  

At the bridge over the creek, looking southeast:  

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

You are correct regarding schematics.
There are significant differences in installation guides, wiring diagrams, and wiring schematics.
Gate installers are generally not terribly adept at the inner workings of an actuator or controller and assume the new controller has been tested at the factory and will work if the correct colored wires are connected to the correct terminal in accordance to the installation guide. Same with end users if they just buy the gate opener kit. Plug and play, as they say. The installation guide will show nothing regarding components, what they are or how they work.
A wiring diagram will show wires, connections, and blocks of labeled components but won't show what device is inside each component, how the circuits are completed or show the integrated circuitry within the components

A wiring schematic will show everything, including the values of each resister, diode, capacitor etc and they are often difficult to find, as 'how the thing works' is often propitiatory information to that specific manufacturer to the levels often only assigned national security secrets..

I'll have to re-read your previous posts and see what I can find, but IC is not one of my better skills. I was quite good at one time, when components were large and physical, but microprocessors are now a big part of just about everything and they are "above my schoolin" Most gate components are sealed units and the 'repair guy' will just replace the whole board or controller..no one changes components inside electronics any more. I suspect they will incorporate diode bridges inside the controller to reverse current but there will also be at least one torque limiter.
A schematic should tho,, show you how to determine if the controller is in fact receiving the right signals for it to open/close/and stop.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @greybeard,

Thanks.  I decided to contact Ghost Controls to see if I can get a controller board for my gate opener.  I have yet to hear back from them.

Now I'd like some recommendations from you folks.  The first thing I would like to find is a better chain for my pole saw.  Oregon R34 chain fits the pole saw (8"), but that chain is not that durable.  About 3 days' use and the chain gets dull and stretches out so as not to fit snugly on the guide bar.  I wish I could find a chain as hard as the chain that fits my Stihl.  That chain lasts and lasts.  I have looked online but haven't found a chain in that size that I think would be better.

The second thing I would like to find is a good pair of work boots (waterproof) to replace my current work boots (Muck brand).  My wife bought them about this time last year and they were over $100.  I hoped that they would last, but early this spring I discovered that they had a small leak in the left boot.  Now, the outside cover is starting to come off the inner fabric on the left boot.  I had thought that $100 boots would last longer than that.  Any recommendations?

No other news here.  I hope all of you have a wonderful day.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

Chain stretch is common, especially the first few times a new chain is used. Make sure the oiler is working good.

You know, you can knock a link out of a stretched out chain and continue to use it... You will need the little chainbreaker tool to do it with. There are all different kinds, the simplest is a special hard steel thing you can carry in your pocket and it's called an anvil.
I've done lots of them. He says  "you need a good heavy piece of metal" to place the anvil on but I almost always have done it on a flat part of the trailer hitch of my pickup.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

greybeard said:


> You know, you can knock a link out of a stretched out chain and continue to use it...



Mr. @greybeard, sir, no, I did not know that.  I will have to look for that tool and the rivets to reassemble the chain.  Thank you so much!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

After mowing a few places where the grass had gotten too tall, I decided to go back to the "fun" work, trimming trees and cutting down shrubs and small trees.  This time I decided to do some work that I knew needed doing, but I had been putting it off because my Beautiful Gal and I were always working on other things.  Ever since the pole saw got out of commission (a marred chain guide bar) my Beautiful Gal has not gone with me to work outside, as that is her favorite tool to use.

So today I went to where there are 2 trees close to one another in the middle of the pasture, both of which had thick underbrush beneath them, to clear out all of that underbrush.  Here is what they looked like when I started around 8:00:

  

Here is what it looked like when I finished around 12:00:
 

Now that it has gotten rather warm, I have cut back to half days (not like Miss @farmerjan's half days, which are 12 hours!)  I admit it, I'm a wimp.

Tomorrow through Saturday there is a good chance of rain, so I may be taking off a few days:




Senile Texas Aggie


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## frustratedearthmother

That looks great!


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Ever since the pole saw got out of commission (a marred chain guide bar) my Beautiful Gal has not gone with me to work outside, as that is her favorite tool to use.


Sounds like the FIRST thing you should have done was to fix her saw! 

Sure looks nice in the "after" picture.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Wow STA...you  did a nice job


----------



## greybeard

Good job. Now that you have the scrub growth cut out, grass will grow under the trees instead of weeds and brush.
You aren't done with that area tho........just got started. You will continue to have to cut it every year. Most of it will grow back and with sunlight, maybe some new weed/brush species and certainly the seedbank will spring to life.


----------



## Bruce

greybeard said:


> You aren't done with that area tho........just got started.


And here I was expecting you to say the next step was to cut the trees down


----------



## CntryBoy777

I was expecting the same "reply"..........maybe, GB is getting "soft" in his "golden years".....naw, ain't buying that....

STA it does certainly make a "difference" and a great "visual" of Accomplishment!!.....and ya didn't break, tear, or damage anything in the process...........that moisture coming up from Mexico...I doubt will be very well greeted by many in the area over that way.....hope it doesn't hang around too long.......


----------



## Baymule

All that moisture coming up from Mexico looks to be staying below us. I'd take some rain, to give someone else a break. 

Your trim job looks great, what a difference. GB mentioned the seed bank, if you really want to stir it up, run a tractor disc around the tree. Stirring up the dirt will make hundreds of seeds spring to life.


----------



## greybeard

Baymule said:


> GB mentioned the seed bank, if you really want to stir it up, run a tractor disc around the tree. Stirring up the dirt will make hundreds of seeds spring to life.


STA..
Bay may have simply been being facetious but please do not do this.
Look at what was growing there before you cut it. Saplings, viney stuff and woody brushy weeds.
Look at the size/height of them.
Consider the number of years they have been there and dropping seed.
Those plants, are the source of the seeds that will "spring to life".
If you didn't want them growing there this week, why would you want them next spring?
You'll have plenty of resprouts without encouraging more.


----------



## Baymule

I am currently enjoying the fruits if doing just that in my garden. I went no-till, using cardboard and mulch to suppress weeds and improve my pure sand soil. But this spring, I ran the tractor around in the garden with the disc. The seedbank erupted, fed by my hard work of improving the soil and the rains that never seemed to stop. I have the purdiest crop of giant ragweed, lamb's quarters and various other weeds you ever saw. I swear, I think the last 20 years of seeds all came up-twice!  Yesterday we put up plastic fencing around the "good" parts and let the sheep in. They will clean it up for me.

So, no...….don't disturb the soil where you just cleaned up!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Thank all of you so much for the compliments.  We are working slowly but steadily to clearing out around the edges of the pasture, as the two previous owners did not do that.  For over 10 years they simply mowed it for hay.  But as larger trees would grow branches out into the pasture that were low enough down to prevent a tractor from going under them, they did not trim back those limbs.  Instead, the ground underneath the limbs would grow up with weeds, then bushes, then small trees to the point where the pasture became smaller, with the woods continuing to encroach into the pasture.  We are trying to reclaim that land, leaving the large trees in place but cutting the low hanging limbs back, and cutting down the weeds, shrubs and small trees.

My plan for that area underneath the 2 trees is simply to mow it.  If saplings or weeds start coming up, I will spray them with a Roundup/Remedy mix.

This morning I decided to see if my Beautiful Gal's favorite tool, the pole saw, would work even with the bad nick in the guide bar.  It worked fine, except that the chain is somewhat loose.  So my Beautiful Gall joined me and we started clearing out along the small ditch that runs between the eastern pasture and the one to the south of it (where those two trees are located).  We stopped after 4 hours.  The heat just drains us.

Yesterday while cutting down the small trees and brush under the 2 trees, my brush blade started acting up to the point where it became almost unusable.  The problem with it is that the part where the blade attaches to the shaft has gotten loose and will rotate around the shaft.  Here is a picture that perhaps will make it clearer:

 
The gray part, which contains something (probably a gear) to change the direction of the rotating shaft from the power head to turn the blade, no longer fits tight on the black outer shaft (which has a yellow warning sticker on it in the picture).  The Torx head screw is as tight as I can get it, but the gray part will still easily rotate on the black shaft to where I can no longer engage the cutting blade.  What can anyone recommend as to how I can prevent the gray part from rotating on the black shaft?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Yesterday while cutting down the small trees and brush under the 2 trees, my brush blade started acting up to the point where it became almost unusable. The problem with it is that the part where the blade attaches to the shaft has gotten loose and will rotate around the shaft. Here is a picture that perhaps will make it clearer:


It's Troybilt?
I answered this somewhere else not long ago..There is a video that I took the pictures from but I don't have the link to it saved.
Should be a set screw on the side of the gearbox in addition to the  allen head cap screws on the shaft tube clamp. Is it there?




Assuming the set screw has not worked itself out, There is a hole in the shaft tube, that the set screw engages. Often, that hole becomes enlongated and the set screw then moves radially around the shaft tube a bit. This hole should be round, not oval shaped:





The fix is to remove the set screw, and loosen the 2 clamp screws, then pull the head from the end of the shaft tube completely, look on the other side of the shaft tube 180° and you will find a good hole (good holes are always good to....oh..never mind...) 




Reinstall the head using the good hole for the set screw, then tighten the 2 clamp screws. 
You will then probably have to rotate the whole shaft tube at the upper end shaft tube clamp to make the head be properly oriented...otherwise it would be upside down.
I can tell the shaft tube clamp screws themselves are tight, as the line (opening) that runs up the clamp is completely closed up, but that clamp itself is not enough..the set screw is what does most of the holding.

I'll try to find the video that explains the whole repair.
It's something like "Troybilt loose shaft"

.


----------



## greybeard

Here it is:


----------



## greybeard

I have also seen units come in to the shop I used to work at, where this was done:
(Remove ALL 3 screws..the 2 clamp screws and the set screw)



Inversely, instead of effectively decreasing ID of head clamp, you can also increase size of the shaft tube OD with a layer or 2 of double sided tape or use HVAC alum or copper foil tape.
If you choos to do the die grinder/dremel too thing, Be careful not to make the opening in the head so large that when  tightening the screws that the clamping force collapses the tube..or worse, cracks the aluminum head.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @greybeard, sir!

Thanks so much for this.  I will have to do one or more of the things you have described above.  I'll get it fixed one way or another.  That tool proved to be too handy to lose its functionality.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @greybeard, sir

It turned out that the brush cutter aluminum head did not have a set screw -- it had already fallen out!  I did not have another screw that would fit that hole that was short enough.  So I decided to wrap the black inner shaft with a thin piece of sand paper and then insert the black inner shaft into the aluminum head and tighten it down.  It worked like a champ!

Still don't have the gate opener fixed.  The controller board turned out to be OK.  As a test, I moved the wiring for the second gate to the wiring slots for the first gate and the gate opened and closed just fine.  So I suspected that I broke some of the wires (either the green and/or the white position sensing wires).  I decided to cut out a portion of the wires where the mower hit them and then splice them back together.  I also removed the motor and did a continuity test on all of the wires to ensure that they all were connected.  The splice worked.  But when I reinstalled the motor on the gate and hooked up the wires to the controller board again, I had trouble getting the gate to open and close properly.  Even the other gate motor got to where it was acting up!    After fooling with it for 30 minutes or so, I decided to wait until another day to continue with troubleshooting the problem.  Ah, the joys of farm ownership!

We continued cutting the undergrowth along one side of the small drainage ditch between the east pasture and the northern most of the 3 south pastures.  We managed to get about 30 feet of trees, brush, and limbs cut before calling it quits for the day.  I will post before and after pictures once we get finished.

I'll be asking everyone for fencing advice soon, so get ready!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Hey, all,

I just saw a YouTube video about using a subsoiler.  That is something I have never heard of.  The man doing the video was using it to try to improve his water drainage.





What do you folks know about a subsoiler?  Does it really help improve water drainage?  I have several places here on the farm where the soil takes quite a while to dry out, and am wondering if I should use something like that.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

I don't know much, especially about subsoilers but from what I read they are meant to break up hard soil for planting. I've also seen videos of people who have rigged up a curved pipe to their subsoiler and use it to bury cable. I'm not sure that cutting "channels" in clay is going to help it drain unless maybe if the clay layer is shallow and the subsoiler is cutting down in to something that will drain. Seems like what he really needs is to put in drain "tile".


----------



## Mike CHS

I'm a novice at that kind of thing so my input is useless but I don't like turning over the soil. I had a lot of low areas but I filled them in rather than try to change the area itself.


----------



## greybeard

Tho a few do, most sub-soilers don't actually 'turn' the soil. They work sorta like an aerator does, except for moisture and cut deeper. They are just a straight or forward curving shank that goes into the ground and opens up a small trench, and the soil mostly  falls back into the cut trench. Like a chisel plow if you ever saw one of those. Some do have a flat shoe on the bottom, most don't. The whole purpose is just to loosen compacted soil so water can move.
The shanks look very much like the scarifiers on a box blade.
I built my own using the 3 pt framework of an old  middle buster/meadow buster, but gave it away a few months ago. They work well if you can get deep enough to reach a strata that will accept moisture and divert it horizontally away from a wet area, but all my  moist surface areas are even wetter farther down.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Seems like what he really needs is to put in drain "tile".





greybeard said:


> They work well if you can get deep enough to reach a strata that will accept moisture and divert it horizontally away from a wet area, but all my moist surface areas are even wetter farther down.



I am not sure how moist the soil is deeper down, or if the soil's composition would change to something that would accept the moisture.  I have considered buying a post hole digger and simply digging holes in the pasture so that the water would have a place to sink into the ground, but I don't know if that would work.  Plus, I am not sure if I want post holes in the middle of my pasture.  I have no current plans to put in fencing that requires post holes, so the post hole digger would not be used.

I seem to recall both of you talking about drain tile before.  IIRC, it had to do with farms in Iowa and how they have a lot of drain tile.  What in the world would that be?  When I think of drain tile, I think of maybe tile that lines the bottom of a small ditch to permit water flow, reduce vegetation, and prevent erosion.  Is that what that is?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

I think originally it was pipe made of clay so "tile". Possibly also a trench with flat clay tiles on the bottom (like a "French drain" around a foundation). Now it has nothing to do with tile but is plastic pipe, usually corrugated, with holes in it. It can also be made with PVC pipe though not in a farm setting, too expensive. The idea is that the water goes into the pipe and then runs downhill to somewhere it can exit. The pipe has to be covered with something to keep the soil from getting into the pipe and clogging it. 

In smaller settings, like the curtain drain that was put in front of my barn, the pipe is covered with some sort of fabric then stone is layered over it so the rain coming off the roof can be channeled away from the barn, in my case down to the pond behind the barn.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

If posts had titles, then this one would have the title "Frustrating Tool Day".  We went to work out along the drainage ditch that we have been clearing.  I was eager to use the brush blade, as I had gone to the hardware store and bought some machine screws (all but one were for spares) to put in the aluminum housing of the brush blade to hold it stationary to the inner shaft that contains the rotating square shaft from the power head.  Before we headed out, I put one of the machine screws in and tried to tighten it down.  I noticed that the threads had been worn out and the screw would not tighten down.  I hoped that it would work anyhow.  But upon starting the power head and revving it up, I saw the screw start vibrating out a bit.  When I tried cutting down my first tree, the vibration made the screw come out and the head rotate freely about the shaft.  Rats!

Then I switched to the pole saw for the power head.  I had not used it for quite a while and wondered if it still worked.  When I attached it to the power head, and revved up the power, the chain worked fine.  "Great!" I thought.  But about the third tree I cut down with it, the chain came off.  I put it back and cut down another tree.  The chain came off again.  There was no more adjustment available for the bar.  I guess once the chain got warm, it lengthened and then would not stay on the bar.

So I got out the chainsaw.  I really like the chainsaw, except that when I bend or squat down, I get short of breath (big fat belly does that) and so I fatigue easily.  But this was worse -- I cut down one tree and then the chain came off.  I noticed that there was not more adjustment available to lengthen the bar, just like the gas pole saw.  So that left us with two tools that still worked: the battery powered pole saw (my Beautiful Gal's favorite tool) and the reciprocating saw.  I used the reciprocating saw, which requires me to bend or squat down (just like the chainsaw) but takes a good bit longer to cut down a tree.  So I became quite fatigued by all of the squatting and bending.  But we worked until all of our batteries had run down, which happened around 1 PM or so, then we quit for the day.

I will post before and after pictures once we finally finish clearing the ditch, which may be by the end of the week.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

OK, there has to be something going on with those chains. I put quite a few hours on my MS180 and never came close to having the chain "stretch" to the point it wouldn't stay on. I guess you could buy a new chain, never hurts to have a spare, and see if you still have the problem.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I hoped that it would work anyhow. But upon starting the power head and revving it up, I saw the screw start vibrating out a bit. When I tried cutting down my first tree, the vibration made the screw come out and the head rotate freely about the shaft. Rats!


Gorilla tape! Just one wrap around the shaft covering the screw and it won't vibrate out. Sounds like you need to retap the hole and get the proper size screw for that tap.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I really like the chainsaw, except that when I bend or squat down, I get short of breath (big fat belly does that) and so I fatigue easily.


Not the fastest way but I've been known to use my knees. I can't "catcher squat", never could. 1 minute of that and I can hardly stand up and walking take awhile.


----------



## Baymule

I keep 2 new chains at all times, plus a new bar and chain. Screw up one, get another. A neighbor has a sharpener, so it all works out.


----------



## greybeard

Troy shuldn't never Bilt a dam thing.......

Should be able to get a replacement gearbox at a repair shop that handles MTD products. New or used.
Or get it on line. They run about $30+/-

You will need the model number.  Probably get it from Amazon.
An example:
http://www.thepartsbiz.com/Troy-Bil...Cutting-Head-for-TB575EC-TB575SS_p_34124.html

Might try here:
https://www.ebay.com/b/Troy-Bilt-String-Trimmer-Gearboxes/71278/bn_7773497
If the trimmer was mine tho, I would determine what size and thread pitch set screw that was originally in the head, then get the next largest size, drill and tap accordingly.


I sharpen my chains, and it takes about 10-12 minutes each.

It is absolutely imperative, that you keep the chain and bar out of the dirt and sand.  Dirt will kill the lube action along the bar and in the pins of the chain links and chain stretch will multiply.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone.  Does anyone know where I can get the chainsaw repair tools where I can remove a link from the chain and put it back together, the way the guy in the YouTube video the Mr. @greybeard posted did?  I just searched online and saw some tools mentioned but nothing that was obvious.

Regarding the brush blade, I will try to tap the hole for a slightly larger screw, and then use tape to keep it from vibrating out.  I will let everyone know how it turns out.  Thanks again for everyone's comments.


----------



## greybeard

Any chainsaw dealer or shop that repairs chain saws should have those chain link tools. I got mine at the local Stihl dealer.

Not tape..Locktite® Threadlock Blue or Purple on the set screw.
I use it on lots of different things.
Make sure you get the right one..using the Red means you will have to heat it to ever get the screw back out. :
http://henkeladhesivesna.com/blog/the-difference-between-red-blue-green-and-purple-threadlockers/

I've used them all and for small screws, Purple seems to work best.
http://henkeladhesivesna.com/blog/when-and-why-to-use-purple-threadlocker/

You can find any of them at any auto parts store, such as Autozone or NAPA


----------



## Bruce

I only suggested the tape for use until the hole it tapped and a new slightly larger screw was installed. 
You can get Locktite at hardware stores as well. Be aware that for some truly bizarre reason that escapes me, both the red and blue come in red bottle/tubes. Make sure you look for the red container that says "Blue" (in blue) on it. Just HOW hard would it be to have the blue in a blue bottle/tube and the red in a red one?


----------



## animalmom

There you go again, @Bruce being all logical.


----------



## greybeard

Bruce said:


> I only suggested the tape for use until the hole it tapped and a new slightly larger screw was installed.
> You can get Locktite at hardware stores as well. Be aware that for some truly bizarre reason that escapes me, both the red and blue come in red bottle/tubes. Make sure you look for the red container that says "Blue" (in blue) on it. Just HOW hard would it be to have the blue in a blue bottle/tube and the red in a red one?



To make it simpler for the consumer, our products are available in many different grades to cater to a broad array of applications, from auto maintenance and boat maintenance to a wide range of household product repair. These different grades are color-coded to help you identify one threadlocker from another  *The color refers to the actual substance, but all the bottles are red in color. *The red bottle is actually a Loctite trademark; it’s what visually distinguishes Loctite® threadlockers from any other brand.

Product package recognition is a huge part of selling and buying. 
Ever seen CocaCola in a blue can or Pepsi in a red can?
Ever notice how many generic and off brand coffees try to imitate Folger's  and Maryland Club's red container, but few seem to go with that awful tasting Maxwell House blue?


----------



## Bruce

That is a bunch of hooey ad cr@p. The bottle of blue I just finished WAS BLUE! And it WAS Loctite brand.
If they gave a sh1t about their customers, they would make the different products VERY easy to tell apart.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

greybeard said:


> Any chainsaw dealer or shop that repairs chain saws should have those chain link tools. I got mine at the local Stihl dealer.
> 
> Not tape..Locktite® Threadlock Blue or Purple on the set screw.



The local Stihl dealer didn't have any of the tools.  Of course, the dealer is not just for chainsaws -- being such a small town (< 4,000), it is the Ace hardware store that is the dealer.  As for the Locktite, I may try that.  First, though, I think I will try using a lock washer.  Maybe it can handle the vibration just fine.

This morning we finally finished the drainage ditch in cutting down the small trees and most of the limbs.  We still need to pick up some of the limbs and to pull down some of the vines that are still tangled in the trees that we left standing.  Once we finish that, I will post pictures of before and after.

Because we finished a bit early, and since a chance of rain is forecast for almost all of next week, I decided to see if I could finish removing the trash that is in the woods.  I have waited for quite some time for the ground to dry out, but because we have been getting so much rain, the ground would never dry out enough to get into the dump area.  But today it was dry enough, so I was able to remove almost all of the trash that was back there.  What little remains will require my gathering it up by hand.  I am so glad to finally get that cleaned out.  Now I just need to move it out of the pasture to my trailer and haul it to the recycling place in Van Buren.  (I wonder if they are under water, since they are right next to the Arkansas river?)

I finally got the gate fixed.  Even though I was the one that caused the problem by cutting the wires, Ghost Controls sent me a new actuator arm.  Once I got it hooked up and both gates correctly aligned again, everything worked great.  Now I just need to send the old arm back to Ghost Controls.

That's all for now.  I hope everyone has a great rest of the day.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## B&B Happy goats

Congrats on getting gate  working ...and trash picked  up , way to go STA


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## Bruce

I bet you really appreciated that grapple when you got to the dump!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Yes, I did.  In fact, I have appreciated it since the day I first got it, picking up limbs and trees we had cut down and moving them to a burn pile.  What a back saving device!  I know when I saw Mike Morgan on Outdoors with the Morgans(*) first use a grapple and was amazed at how much work he could get done with it that I decided to get one for my tractor.  Because my tractor didn't have a 3rd function valve (and at that time I had not heard of a diverter valve), I scheduled an appointment with the tractor dealer to have both the 3rd function valve and the grapple installed.  It took 2 months before the appointment could be met, but once it finally got installed and I was able to use it, I was so glad to have gotten it!  We can get so much more done with the grapple than before I got it.

Senile Texas Aggie

(*) here is a link to that episode where Mike Morgan is using the grapple:


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## Bruce

Now go watch yesterday's episode where he got the RK 37 stuck on a down slope using the grapple to pull a MASSIVE amount of vines out of the trees. Melissa had to come rescue him with the 55. Near the end of the episode he CLAIMS he could have gotten himself out with the grapple but didn't want to drop the load. But if you were watching carefully, he tried just that. Yep, he needed help, could have self rescued if he had a backhoe instead of a brush hog on the back. I enjoy their channel, lots for noobs to learn. He is poetry in motion with big equipment. The arm and bucket on an excavator are almost like a third arm and hand on him.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I did see that episode.  I thought it funny how he got stuck -- I certainly could identify with that.  And, yes, this newbie has learned a lot from watching that channel -- and still learning.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Baymule said:


> Today we spread rock in the driveway...



While Miss @Baymule posted the above on Miss @B&B Happy goats' journal, it did make me think to ask you folks for advice for graveling our driveway.  We are getting ruts in the sloping parts of the driveway, while the flatter parts seem to be holding up fairly well.  What kind of surfacing material do you folks recommend for slopes on driveways?


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## B&B Happy goats

Everybody has opinions, but when buying and flipping homes i found that "local" stone or recycled concrete worked well...but have also used shell, granite , and crushed stone.....check out what is available  and cost effective then make your choice...


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## Baymule

We had a low stretch of our driveway done, built up with red clay, then topped with crushed concrete. I had him make a dip in it and cut a run off shallow ditch with the bulldozer blade to drain rain away from the driveway. 

My grandpa taught me, on a slope, make a low swale with a cut at an angle for 20-30 feet to drain water away.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I will post in the next post what has been going on, but I want to ask a question I hope someone will know the answer to: is there a particular spline on the male PTO shaft that must be aligned with a particular spline on the female yoke on an implement (in this case, a mower)?  This morning I tried hooking up the mower's PTO female end to the tractor's male end and was having a really hard time.  I worked for 30 minutes or so.  Finally I decided to rotate the mower's PTO shaft a bit to try a different set of splines on the mower to the splines on the tractor.  This time the mower's female end went right on with no problem.  I plan on marking the tractor's male end with the mower's female end so that I won't have so much trouble.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Now as to what we have been up to the past week or so.

Friday of last week we went to NE Texas (DeKalb) to have a going-away dinner for my wife's next older sister Treasa and her husband James.  They were getting ready to head out west, eventually going to the SF area to visit some of James' relatives.  They were not sure whether they were going in their RV or driving in their car.  The next day (Saturday), my Beautiful Gal and I visited with my mom, my uncle (my mom's younger brother), and my older sister.  We returned home later that day.

On Sunday I decided that I would gather up all of the brush piled up in the pasture and drag it behind our shop so that I could chip it with the wood chipper.  I managed to get 2 grapple loads moved.  When I tried to get the 3rd one, just as I drove into the brush pile, the forward/reverse gear shift became completely detached from the transmission!  I had to walk the 1/4 mile from the pile to the shop, get the Gator and toolbox, then drive back down to the tractor.  I took apart the tractor housing where the gear shift lever was.  I could not find the bolt that had come completely lose from the shift lever.  When I had about given up and decided to go back to the shop to try to find a bolt that would fit, I heard the bolt fall, hit the tractor, and land in the grass.  I found it and reinstalled the gear shift lever and reinstalled the housing.  All of that took about an hour.  Then I got busy dragging the brush to behind the barn.  It took almost all day to do that, as I had 4 large piles, each about a 1/4 mile from the place behind the shop.  Because I can drag a lot more brush than I can lift with the grapple, I usually drag the brush backward.  But that means I have to turn and look behind the tractor.  Doing that for a 1/4 mile for each pile I can get means my neck started to hurt after awhile.  It took me most of the rest of the day to drag the 4 big brush piles to behind the shop.  By that time, I had a crick in my neck!

On Monday, my Beautiful Gal and I decided to take the day off.  Her favorite tool, the battery powered pole saw, was out of commission.  Treasa and James decided to drive their car out west, and so decided to park their RV at our house while they traveled.  They had planned to leave early Tuesday morning, but when James looked under the front left, he noticed grease on the brake lines.  Since they had gotten the car brand new only a few months ago, they decided to take it to the Toyota dealership in Fort Smith Tuesday morning.  So we did that.  The dealer said that the CV joint boot needed replacing and that they would need to order the part.  Treasa and James finally left on their trip Friday morning.

On Friday after they left, I decided to get a new pole saw at Lowes, as I had purchased a 2 year replacement warranty when I bought it.  So I drove to Lowe's in Van Buren (Fort Smith Lowe's didn't have any) and got the old one replaced and bought a second one to use should the first one break.  On the way back, I stopped at Magazine Tire and Auto center and bought 6 new tires for the truck (I have a dually).  These were the tires that came on the truck when I bought it new back in August  2017.  They had ~34,000 miles on them, and one of the tires was down to 3/32 tread depth.

Today, with a new pole saw, we went and worked along the eastern edge of the east pasture.  We quit around 11:30.  Once we finished lunch, I decided that I would mow with the tractor along the driveway and around some trees next to the driveway.  Once I finished that I planned to mow the overgrown south pastures.  As I was about to finish the last tree next to the driveway, the shear bolt on the mower broke.  I was unable to locate any more shear bolts in the shop.  So I will need to get some tomorrow.

So that is what has been going on here at STA Farms.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

In regards to the spline question. I am unaware of any tractor pto spline set up, regardless of PTO shaft size category or make of tractor or implement having an indexing spline. Doing so would greatly limit the aftermarket implements any given brand tractor could use.

 However.. IF the mower (or any other pto driven implement) is used for extended periods of time without occasionally being interchanged with another implement and it's shaft, the internal splines will wear a bit to make their own 'comfort zone' of fit for the implement being used. With brush hogs/mowers, the splines and ujoints take a real beating. Generally, the pto shaft's external splines are hardened steel and don't suffer from this. Implement's internal splines tho are in a softer hub (part of the ujoint) which is often cast iron, and they wear easier.
Built up dirt and grease inside the internal splines can cause this too.


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## Baymule

I like reading about your tractor adventures. I must congratulate you on your ability to troubleshoot and fix problems in the field. You aren’t so senile. LOL


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## CntryBoy777

Ya know STA...if ya bungee or ratchet strap ya a bicycle onto the tractor....ya wouldn't have to walk back to the house....it would be great if it was downhill.....


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## greybeard

Tractors used to come with a toolbox on them and the ones I had that didn't, I made a box for them and bolted it to the fender..sometimes one on each fender. Hitch pins, shear bolts, basic tools, a few common bolts & nuts. 

I haven't seen a new one come with a usable tool box in some time.


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## CntryBoy777

I always "pictured" ya as a 2 holster man @greybeard ....


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## CntryBoy777

greybeard said:


> Tractors used to come with a toolbox on them and the ones I had that didn't, I made a box for them and bolted it to the fender..sometimes one on each fender. Hitch pins, shear bolts, basic tools, a few common bolts & nuts.
> 
> I haven't seen a new one come with a usable tool box in some time.


I've riden on a tool box welded to a fender on a tractor back in the 3rd and 4th grade...while they were planting or spraying cotton.....my handle was the blinker...it was a Ford, but can't remember the size....it wasn't huge, but it wasn't a little one either....I believe it pulled a 6row planter....anyway, I couldn't help but think of it when reading your post....


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## greybeard

None of the N-series Fords had a rear blinking amber light from the Ford plant. They had twin teardrop lights in the front and one spotlight on the left rear fender to help you hook up the implement and be able to see what was going on back there at night.
It was mid 60s before I ever saw a new tractor with an amber blinking light back there on the rear fender. 
8, 9, & NAA (Jubilee) Fords would all pull a 6,8,10 or even 12 row planter pretty easily, especially the NAAs but with max of about 32hp, 3 row bottom plows were all they could handle and it better be sandy soil at that. They were really bad about the front end rearing up.  The 2n was the first model they came out with and it was pretty limited in what it could handle. 


Most of those N series were geared too high to do a lot of heavy pulling.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @greybeard, sir,

Thanks for your answer on the spline.  I guess that I have a mower yoke that has worn a bit and so it is a self made indexing yoke.  I will save myself some trouble and simply mark the tractor spline and the mower yoke, so i can easily (I hope) reattach the mower.



Baymule said:


> I like reading about your tractor adventures. I must congratulate you on your ability to troubleshoot and fix problems in the field. You aren’t so senile. LOL



I don't know -- I ran into the grapple the other day with my head while I was sweeping out the garage and thus was looking down.  In the contest between the tractor and my head, the tractor has won every time.



CntryBoy777 said:


> Ya know STA...if ya bungee or ratchet strap ya a bicycle onto the tractor....ya wouldn't have to walk back to the house....it would be great if it was downhill.....



I would probably die from a heart attack trying to ride a bicycle in the pasture because the ground is so soft right now.



greybeard said:


> Tractors used to come with a toolbox on them and the ones I had that didn't, I made a box for them and bolted it to the fender..sometimes one on each fender. Hitch pins, shear bolts, basic tools, a few common bolts & nuts.



My tractor has a small toolbox, and I have a tool bag hanging from the bar I have attached to the ROPS.  I _thought_ I had my extra shear bolts in one of those two places, but I couldn't find them, nor could I find them in the garage.  When I go to Tractor Supply later this morning, I plan on buying 5 or so bolts and put the extras in the tool bag.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

More often than not any 'shear' bolt is nothing more than  a bolt of the correct diameter and length with Grade 5 shear strength.


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## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I don't know -- I ran into the grapple the other day with my head while I was sweeping out the garage and thus was looking down.  In the contest between the tractor and my head, the tractor has won every time.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie



A couple years ago when I couldn't get a slaughter date for 3 hogs that were eating their heads off, we slaughtered and processed them ourselves. A neighbor shot them, we snatched the hog out of the pasture, chained his back legs to the front end loader and raised it up. I skinned, gutted and quartered them. If I banged my head on the bucket, I banged it a hundred times. I reckon them hogs had the last laugh.


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## CntryBoy777

Yeh, that is as much fun as banging the knee or shin on the dang trailer hitch....it'll make your eyes Water for sure, and take your breath....that trailer hitch "boogie" is hard on an old man, I tell ya........


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## frustratedearthmother

Baymule said:


> If I banged my head on the bucket, I banged it a hundred times. I reckon them hogs had the last laugh.


Hog butchering is dangerous work!  Last time I did one DH was on  the tractor raising him up for me.  I got right under that bucket and got to work.  DH went to get off the tractor and his belly hit the lever that drops the FEL.  Holy Cow I didn't know I could still move that fast or cuss that loud.  I think I invented some new words that day, lol. I now know better than to walk between two cars when DH is in one of them and I don't get under the bucket when he's on the tractor.  Geeze if I didn't know better I might think he's trying to get rid of me...


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## Baymule

CntryBoy777 said:


> Yeh, that is as much fun as banging the knee or shin on the dang trailer hitch....it'll make your eyes Water for sure, and take your breath....that trailer hitch "boogie" is hard on an old man, I tell ya........


I do that too. My middle name is Grace. It durn sure didn't do me any good.


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## Baymule

frustratedearthmother said:


> Hog butchering is dangerous work!  Last time I did one DH was on  the tractor raising him up for me.  I got right under that bucket and got to work.  DH went to get off the tractor and his belly hit the lever that drops the FEL.  Holy Cow I didn't know I could still move that fast or cuss that loud.  I think I invented some new words that day, lol. I now know better than to walk between two cars when DH is in one of them and I don't get under the bucket when he's on the tractor.  Geeze if I didn't know better I might think he's trying to get rid of me...


I don't get in front of or behind any vehicle that DH is driving, he's hit me coming and going. Darn good thing the car/truck/tractor/mule only goes forward/backward and not sideways. I'd just have to run like a scalded cat.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I found it and reinstalled the gear shift lever and reinstalled the housing.



DW has a similar story regarding an old Scout back when she was a teen (which means a long time ago). Shift lever didn't exactly come loose in her hand it broke. While she was driving. 



Ridgetop said:


> although I should put it to good use clearing the beach quickly so we can have the best spot!


Yep, geet the teeniest tiniest string bikini you can find and go talk to all the people in the best section of the beach. Probably doesn't hurt if you act a little "teched in the head" 



frustratedearthmother said:


> Geeze if I didn't know better I might think he's trying to get rid of me..


How much is your life insurance worth?


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## greybeard

There is no GOOD reason to ever work under a raised FEL bucket without a safety on the cylinder..none.
It is so incredibly simple & quick to make something to keep a loader bucket up regardless of what happens with the control lever, broken hyd lines, or blown cylinder seals.
Get set up to work, figure out about how high you need to raise the bucket for the work you will be hanging off it, and cut a 2x4 or even 2x6  board or piece of pipe to fit between the cylinder barrel face and the bracket the cylinder attaches to at  the top with it raised at your preferred height. Raise to full height, set board right next to the cylinder ram (the shiny part) and lash it on there with a few god cable ties. Lower the bucket until the upper bracket just touches the board and no matter what, the fel cannot and will not drop any farther than that. It must rest ON the end of the board tho.






My Case loader backhoe combo came with one from the factory and it works.
This is a pic of a newer one, but they are all the same:





I unpin the lock, swing it down, and lower the loader down on the lock.


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## frustratedearthmother

greybeard said:


> There is no GOOD reason to ever work under a raised FEL bucket without a safety on the cylinder..none.


You are right - and at my house it will never happen again.  Thanks so much for the safety tip.  It is much appreciated!


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## Baymule

Thanks for the safety tip GB.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

We finally finished clearing out the small creek (really a natural ditch) between the east pasture on the north and one of the southern pastures on the south.  It has been a long time coming.

 

Here are the before pictures from point A, starting southwest and going around to east:

   

After pictures in next post.


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## greybeard

Getting it cleaned up is a great start and is the easy part. Keeping it that way is the hard part and a lifetime endeavor.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

After pictures from point A, starting from southwest around to east:

    

After pictures from point B (I couldn't find my before pictures from point B):

  

I plan to cut down the vine covered tree in the second picture once I get a new chainsaw chain or shorten the one I have.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

greybeard said:


> Getting it cleaned up is a great start and is the easy part. Keeping it that way is the hard part and a lifetime endeavor.



That is definitely true!  The ditch next to the driveway that we cleared last fall is already growing up.  I need to get down there with my sprayer and take care of the shrubs already sprouting again.


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## B&B Happy goats

Nice job STA


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## Baymule

It looks nice. Sure you don't need some cattle in those pastures and lazing under those trees?


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## Bruce

Or sheep or goats or alpacas or llamas or yaks or buffalo?


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Baymule said:


> It looks nice. Sure you don't need some cattle in those pastures and lazing under those trees?





Bruce said:


> Or sheep or goats or alpacas or llamas or yaks or buffalo?



Yes, that might be nice.  My problem is fencing, no barn, no watering facilities, and especially my lack of experience in raising animals.  The only animals I have ever raised have been dogs and cats.  So, yes, having cattle out in the pastures would be peaceful looking, but I don't think it is going to happen any time soon.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Hey, I never had chickens until 2012 and never had alpacas until late 2016! Only house cats and some aquarium fish. Haven't had a dog since I left So Cal in 1979. And I had never put up an animal containing fence nor converted a barn stall into a chicken coop either. You can look at Latestarter's thread to see how he built his goat mansion. Water can be figured out.

"I've never" doesn't cut it with us buster!


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## Ridgetop

Bruce said:


> Yep, geet the teeniest tiniest string bikini you can find and go talk to all the people in the best section of the beach. Probably doesn't hurt if you act a little "teched in the head"



Several years ago several cousins and I were in her hot tub.  The teenagers were in the pool.  We (the oldsters) were drinking wine and having a great time.  The nasty neighbor couldn't see us - the hot tub was screened, but called the police to say the teens were drinking and making lots of noise.  When the police showed up my cousins and I offered to go talk to them and the 4 of us old gals stood up to get out of the hot tub.  It was a great example of displacement theory for a couple of our grandchildren!


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## Ridgetop

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Yes, that might be nice. My problem is fencing, no barn, no watering facilities, and especially my lack of experience in raising animals. The only animals I have ever raised have been dogs and cats. So, yes, having cattle out in the pastures would be peaceful looking, but I don't think it is going to happen any time soon.



If you have any local ranchers that want grazing they might be willing to put up some hot wire in return for the grazing privilege, and figure out how to get the water from your pond to a cattle tank.


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## greybeard

Chinchillas, Emu and Chicapoos is where the real $$ is.


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## Baymule

greybeard said:


> Chinchillas, Emu and Chicapoos is where the real $$ is.


BAD GREYBEARD!!! BAD!!!


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## Ridgetop

NO BISCUIT!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Well, the past few days have been interesting, to say the least.  On Thursday, instead of my Beautiful Gal and I continuing on trimming trees limbs, etc., from the pasture, I decided I needed to mow the overgrown pastures in the south part of the farm.  I took a tank sprayer with a small mixture of gasoline & diesel with me to set fire to a brush pile that I had made last year.  After mowing a small circle around the brush pile, I sprayed the pile with the gas/diesel mixture and lit it.  The gas/diesel burned, but the brush pile was too wet to burn.  I decided to mow the western edge of the two sections of the pasture so that we could get to the south pond without going through high grass.  I didn't get finished with the portion just west of the south pond, as I ran low of diesel in the tractor.  So I decided to go to the house.  I also decided that I would continue to mow on the way back.  As I was just about to cross the little stream between the two overgrown pastures, I heard a terrible racket coming from the mower.  I knew that I had not run over any limbs in the pasture.  I looked back and saw that the tank sprayer had fallen off of the tool rack I have on the tractor and had gotten run over by the shredder.  Ouch!  I don't know how it happened.  I guess I am lucky the gasoline in the sprayer didn't ignite and blow up!

The next day, Friday, I decided to continue mowing in those pastures.  About 10 AM or so I noticed my cell phone had fallen out of the drink holder on the side of the tractor.  Oh, no!  I immediately stopped the tractor and walked around the area where I had been mowing, looking for it.  After not finding it, I decided to go to the house and get my Beautiful Gal to help me look, driving back on a path where I knew I had not gone (I didn't want to run over the phone).  We both went back and looked for 30 minutes or so, never finding the phone.  So after lunch I drove to Greenwood, about 20 miles or so away, where the nearest AT&T retail store was, and got a new phone.  $270 + tax for the cheapest smart phone they had.  Ouch!

So on Saturday I went back to the pasture to look for the phone, bringing my metal detector with me.  After looking for 15 minutes or so, I found my old phone out in the middle of the grass.  The phone powered on but with a low battery, so it appeared to be OK. Yay!  I went back to the house and put the old phone on the charger to let it charge up, then went back to the pasture and continued mowing.  Around noon or so, I went back to the house.  As I was putting up the tractor, I noticed what appeared to be oil mixed with water coming out of the front seal of the gear box.  Good grief!  How did I get water in the oil of the gear box?  I keep the mower inside the shop out of the weather, so how did water get into the gear box?  After going inside the house, I checked the old phone, and was able to access the Internet via the WiFi, so it appeared to be OK.

I decided to return the new phone to the AT&T store (they had a 14 day return), and after waiting an hour or so, managed to get the new phone returned and my old phone reactivated.  On the way home I decided to stop at Ace hardware in Booneville to get a new tank sprayer and gear lube for the mower.  According to the owner's manual that I found on the web, the Rhino SE6 requires NLGI 000 grease for the gear box.  Ace didn't have anything like that, so I stopped at O'Reilly's.  They had never heard of it, either.  So I decided to get 80W-90 gear oil and use that.  One thing I did note was (while O'Reilly's was looking for the correct oil/grease) that I found on the web someone who had posted on a forum that he was looking for that same NLGI 000 grease and could not find it.  He described the color of the grease as chocolate brown.  "What?" I thought.  Maybe what I thought was water in the oil of the gear box was really the correct color.  This morning I decided to go ahead and siphon out the old oil/grease from the gear box and replace it with the 80W-90 oil.  I saved the old oil/grease and took a picture of it.  Here is what it looked like:

 

So I have several questions:
+ is that a normal color for grease/oil out of a shredder gear box?
+ how hard will it be to replace the front seal of the gear box?  Is that something I can easily do or should I take it to a shop to have it repaired?
+ the shredder blades need sharpening badly.  Should I buy a heavy duty impact wrench and sockets to remove the blades, or use an angle grinder to sharpen the blades in place, or something else?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard

I can't tell much from the picture..too shiny. 

"_
*Features*

Chevron Dura-Lith Greases EP are multipurpose extreme pressure greases.

They are manufactured using selected highly refined medium viscosity index base oils, a lithium 12-hydroxystearate thickener, an extreme pressure additive, and rust and oxidation inhibitors.

NLGI 000 is red in color and stringy in texture. NLGI 00, 00, 0, 1 and 2 are amber in color and buttery in texture_

Altho the oem instructions may specify a specific grade, the regional or even dealerships will often substitute a different but compatible grade. 
Colors can be different depending on the brand as well.  

Some reading material for you. (you may have to click on the "see entire topic" button top center. )
https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=ttalk&th=569931


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## greybeard

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> As I was putting up the tractor, I noticed what appeared to be oil mixed with water coming out of the front seal of the gear box.



On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being most difficult, I would say it is a 3 difficulty. IF you have spun the u-joint on the shaft for very long when the shear pin broke, it can be more difficult because it might be harder to get the u-joint off the input shaft of the gearbox due to galling of the shaft and joint hub. 

Before you tackle the job, 1st ensure the vent on the gearbox isn't plugged up. If it's plugged, excessive heat creates pressure inside the gearbox and forces the lubricant out past the seal. Often, it's just a matter of unplugging the vent and the leakage will cease. Other times, not so lucky.

Once you remove the u-joint hub from the shaft, you'll see the seal right there on the gearbox. It's then a matter of driving a punch into the metal part of the seal and popping the seal out by prying. Sometimes, I have taken a metal screw with self tapping threads (roofing screw) and run it into the metal part of the seal, and slip a sturdy screwdriver under the head of the screw and used that to pop the seal out. On some units, if there's a shoulder behind the seal, running a screw in there will force the seal out without any prying. 

Nowadays tho, most input shaft seals are all 'rubber' with no metal except maybe a seal lip  expansion spring on the inner side of the seal. They are even easier to pop out.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

It has been awhile since I last posted a summary of the books we have read -- I think before I took a break from BYH.  So this post will be a lengthy one for which I apologize, as we have read numerous books in that time.  All but one of the books we read were nonfiction, so if you only interested in fiction, then you can certainly skip this post.

_Maybe You Should Talk to Someone_ by Lori Gottlieb.
This is a book about a psychological therapist and the experiences she had with her clients, the events in her own personal life, and her need to seek the assistance of a therapist of her own.  An interesting look into the life of a therapist.

_Wholly Unravelled_ by Keele Burgin
This is a book about a young woman who grew up in a charismatic cult branch of a well known church denomination (I won't say which one).  Her father was quite abusive toward the author when she was growing up and this had a really bad impact on her.  After she left home, she went wild, went deeply into debt, then stole one of her sisters' identities, and ran up more debt.  When she finally hit bottom, she decided to go to a sanctuary run by the same church denomination, staying there at the sanctuary for about a year.  When she finally decided to leave the sanctuary, when her father insisted that she move back home, she said no, and left to live a more wholesome life on her own.

_The Elephant in the Brain_ by Kevin Simler and Robin Hansin
The title comes from the phrase "the elephant in the room".  The authors make the case that for the brain, the motives we have for what we say and do all boil down to self-interest.  Food for thought.

_The Bride Test_ by Helen Hoang
This is a novel about a mother of Vietnamese heritage who travels to Vietnam to look for a woman to be a wife for her younger son, who has Aspergers, and has never had a date with a girl.  The mother finds a suitable woman and pays for her to come to America to get to know her son.  There is conflict and then a happy ending.

_Rising Out of Hatred -- the Awakening of a Former White Nationalist_ by Eli Saslow
This book is about David Roland Black, son of Don (?) Black, a former KKK grand wizard and founder of the white supremacist web site _Stormfront.  _David grew up and became active in the group, doing web broadcasts with his father.  Things changed for David when he left home to go to college.  There he became friends with a Jew and two folks from South America, as well as a young woman from Ohio.  As they continued to talk about things, David SLOWLY began to question his own beliefs about white nationalism.  His friends helped provide him with sources of information that refuted the claims of white nationalism.  By the time he graduated from college, he had abandoned his white nationalist beliefs and went on to graduate school.

_Thinking in Bets_ by Annie Duke
This is a book by a professional poker player, but is not about poker.  Instead, it is about methods that poker players use to improve their play and how those methods can be used in ordinary life.  One of her many points is to try to get as many diverse views as possible about decisions and the factors that go into the decision.  Be ready to admit that the outcome may not be what is desired, but the important thing is to focus on the process, not the result.  _(Rising Out of Hatred_ is a good example of that in action.)  And it is important to find colleagues to help you improve the process, colleagues that won't be sycophants but will challenge you with arguments and reasoning that are different from yours.  It reminded me a lot of about _groupthink_ and how to avoid it.

_How to Change Your Mind_ by Michael Pollan
This book was nothing like what we expected.  We read it based on it being recommended by one of our nieces.  It is about how the use of psychedelic drugs can be used to treat different diseases such as anxiety and depression, but can also be used to assist in creativity.  As we read this book I feared he would go into New-Agey things like chakras, auras, etc.  While the author came close to that, for the most part he stayed on the rational neurologically based side of the discussion. 

_Heartland_ by Sarah Smarsh
This is a book about a young woman who grew up poor near Wichita KS and how almost all of her relatives on her mother's side of the family were poor, were often homeless, got pregnant at a young age, married abusive husbands, and what all those combinations of factors did to perpetuate the family lifestyle.  More importantly, she showed how society's attitudes toward those who are poor can often worsen the situation for those caught in the poverty cycle.

_The Fifth Risk_ by Michael Lewis
This book is about different branches and departments of the U.S. government and what those agencies do.  The title comes from an interview the author had with a former high ranking official in the Energy Dept with a deep understanding of nuclear weapons.  In the interview, the author asked the official what he saw as the main risks facing the country.  He named five, with the fifth risk being project management.  The author covered the Energy Dept, the Agricultural Dept, and the Commerce Dept.  He went into great depths to cover NOAA and the National Weather Service.  He saw how time and time again ideology and corporate influences trumped good science since the Trump administration took over.  While the Trump fans may find the author's findings off-putting, it jives with the above book _Thinking in Bets_ and the need for having diverse points of view, and how the lack of such diverse points of view can lead to mediocrity at best and catastrophe at worst.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

That is an impressive list of books. I don't read near like I used to. Reading books is an expansion of learning. Reading a diverse list of books is a good way to examine your own beliefs, it will either cement them in place or challenge one to learn more.


----------



## RollingAcres

Those are some interesting books!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

We have been offline for awhile because my wife's next older sister, Treasa, and her husband, James, returned from their trip to California on Monday, so we kept them company.  On the Sunday before they arrived, my Beautiful Gal to me to the gate area and finally got through to me just how important it was to improve the looks of the gate.  While the gate itself looked fine, the area around it looked bad -- crappy loose barbed wire that wasn't straight, etc.  On Tuesday morning, James and I set to work building a wooden fence to replace the barbed wire.  Dummy me forgot to get pictures before we started, so the "before" pictures below are really "during", after we had cut down the trees in the way and had removed the crappy barbed wire.  The pictures are taken from next to the highway looking south down the driveway toward the house:

West side of driveway:    
 

Eastern part of driveway.  I am the one in the straw hat:     

"After" pictures:
West side of driveway:     

East side of driveway:     

The man leasing our pastures for haymaking came and baled while we were putting up the fence.  Treasa could not believe that the bales were as large as they were so she walked down to the one closest to the porch and stood in front of one:
 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

We need some advice.  Yesterday, my Beautiful Gal and I sprayed the quail area with Remedy to kill the sumac bushes coming up in the pasture.  We only had a 2 gallon hand-held sprayer.  We rode around on the Gator, with one of us driving and the other spraying.  It took us over 5 hours to spray the ~3 acres!   Considering that we have a lot more areas around the farm that will need spraying, we are considering buying a tank sprayer that will go in the back of the Gator.  Can any of you recommend a good quality sprayer?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


>


You didn't really nail those boards to that tree, right? If you did you better tell the tree not to grow!
Other than that, looks good. I'm sure much better than crappy barbed wire. 

Afraid I don't know anything about sprayers but I think @Mike CHS has one.


----------



## Bruce

I hope you are far enough west to miss out on this!!!


----------



## Mike CHS

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> All,
> 
> We need some advice.  Yesterday, my Beautiful Gal and I sprayed the quail area with Remedy to kill the sumac bushes coming up in the pasture.  We only had a 2 gallon hand-held sprayer.  We rode around on the Gator, with one of us driving and the other spraying.  It took us over 5 hours to spray the ~3 acres!   Considering that we have a lot more areas around the farm that will need spraying, we are considering buying a tank sprayer that will go in the back of the Gator.  Can any of you recommend a good quality sprayer?
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie



I have a 40 gallon 3 point hitch sprayer with an 8' boom that does the job.  My old neighbor had a smaller sprayer with the same boom for his side by side that did good also.  I think that one was probably 20 gallons.  It also has a wand sprayer for the tank which gives a lot of flexibility.

I use our sprayer for a lot of things but it works great for the gravel driveway and I use the wand for all of the fence lines.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> You didn't really nail those boards to that tree, right?



Correct.  We used 4x4 pressure treated ground contact posts, except where there were dual iron pipe H braces, where we clamped the boards to the braces.


Bruce said:


> I hope you are far enough west to miss out on this!!!



We are currently catching the western edge.  It is drizzling at the moment, but no heavy rain.



Mike CHS said:


> I have a 40 gallon 3 point hitch sprayer with an 8' boom that does the job. My old neighbor had a smaller sprayer with the same boom for his side by side that did good also.



I looked into getting a 3-pt hitch sprayer, but they were quite expensive compared to those that could be used in a side-by-side.  However, I am wondering how durable the electric pumps are for the side-by-side versions.  I don't want to try to save some money only to buy a piece of crap that I will end up discarding after a couple of uses.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## misfitmorgan

Finally caught up......let me say wow the work!!! Also nice entrance I agree with your Beautiful Gal!!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

misfitmorgan said:


> Also nice entrance I agree with your Beautiful Gal!!



Thanks, Miss @misfitmorgan!  I see where you will be getting some hot weather later this week:





Come to think of it, a lot of our friends in the northern US will be getting hot weather, including Miss @Carla D, Miss @RollingAcres, Mr. @Bruce, Miss @rachels.haven, Miss @farmerjan, etc.  (Locations for my BYH friends are approximate, as I cannot remember exactly where you folks reside):





















Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## RollingAcres

STA is stalking us again! 

Yeah, it's been very hot and humid here. I really don't like it. Not looking forward to the over 90 degrees days. We have a picnic to go to this Saturday and it's going to be over 95 degrees! I'll be staying in the pool for sure.


----------



## misfitmorgan

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Thanks, Miss @misfitmorgan!  I see where you will be getting some hot weather later this week:
> View attachment 64397
> 
> Come to think of it, a lot of our friends in the northern US will be getting hot weather, including Miss @Carla D, Miss @RollingAcres, Mr. @Bruce, Miss @rachels.haven, Miss @farmerjan, etc.  (Locations for my BYH friends are approximate, as I cannot remember exactly where you folks reside):
> 
> View attachment 64398
> 
> View attachment 64399
> 
> View attachment 64400
> 
> View attachment 64401
> 
> View attachment 64402
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


Well Currently this is my forecast



Grand rapids is 4hrs South of me and on the other side of the state. Don't worry I'm sure the humidity will kill me none the less


----------



## Bruce

Yeah I'm not looking forward to Friday and Saturday at all! We are supposed to have a heat index of 95°


----------



## Carla D

The heat has been quite warm in western Wisconsin. But, it’s the humidity that seems to be the worst part about the weather. Even at 7pm it feels like 90 degrees
.
I really feel bad for our rabbits and goats. Our pigs seem to enjoy the weather as long as they have mud to wallow in.


----------



## Baymule

Oh Boo-Hoo!! 


Bruce said:


> Yeah I'm not looking forward to Friday and Saturday at all! We are supposed to have a heat index of 95°




Snicker, laugh, guffaw, snort, Laugh some more, wiping tears, my sides hurt


----------



## RollingAcres

Baymule said:


> Oh Boo-Hoo!!
> 
> 
> 
> Snicker, laugh, guffaw, snort, Laugh some more, wiping tears, my sides hurt


That's brutally HOT for us Northerners!


----------



## Baymule

RollingAcres said:


> That's brutally HOT for us Northerners!


It's hot for us too, but I guess we can take it better. It gets hot and stays hot for several months. Maybe we're just used to it.


----------



## RollingAcres

Baymule said:


> It's hot for us too, but I guess we can take it better. It gets hot and stays hot for several months. Maybe we're just used to it.


Just like we are used to the colder weather up here.


----------



## Bruce

Thanks for the empathy @Baymule


----------



## misfitmorgan

Baymule said:


> It's hot for us too, but I guess we can take it better. It gets hot and stays hot for several months. Maybe we're just used to it.



The equivalent would be if the forecast said it was going to be 116F for a few days....Average temps here are mid to upper 70s...average there are mid 90s


----------



## Baymule

Bruce said:


> Thanks for the empathy @Baymule


You're mighty welcome! Anything for my friend!


----------



## Baymule

Mid 70's here might be considered a bit chilly. Nice, but a breeze might raise up goose bumps. 

We went outside this morning and worked until 11:30. Soaking wet, dirty and hot, (yes we do get hot) we came in, showered and now DH is taking a nap. I'm doing laundry, cooking a pot of purple hull peas and just made deviled eggs. Got to strip the bed, remake it, do another load of laundry.


----------



## Bruce

I expect you've seen this or will since you follow Tractor Mike but since you were asking about sprayers:


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> I expect you've seen this or will since you follow Tractor Mike but since you were asking about sprayers:



Holy cow!  Yes, I do watch Tractor Mike but I had not seen this video.  I wish I had, as will be evident soon.

Yesterday I bought a cheap sprayer at Tractor Supply that will fit in the Gator side-by-side.  I couldn't see spending $400 or more for something I wasn't sure I would use that much, so I bought a County Line spot sprayer, which I have yet to install.  After I got home, I spent the rest of the day rounding up brush and trees and then burning all of it.  I finally cut the last part of the pine tree that was on the pond dam that blow over earlier this year.  (I counted 55 rings in the trunk.)  I didn't even have time to log into BYH or watch any YouTube videos such as Tractor Mike.  

Today my Beautiful Gal and I decided that it was time to tackle the brush pile behind the shop that we had been planning on chipping into mulch.  So I hooked up the chipper and we got after it.  For about 45 minutes we were really getting the wood chipped up.  But then, in the process, I did 2 things that each deserve a Zinger™ award.  First, I fed in a tree that was close to the limit of the size that the wood chipper could handle:

 
That itself was OK.  Where I screwed up was failing to adjust the feed rate, which I had set at the fastest speed.  Because the tree was so thick and the amount of wood being chipped off was so large, the flywheel came to a complete halt.  The wood was jammed in there and the PTO could not turn to drive the hydraulics to reverse the feed.  So back to the shop we went.

Here is where I did the second thing worthy of a Zinger™ award: I decided to remove the housing for the top of the flywheel to see if I could unjam the wood from it.  I attempted to remove the nut from the bolt holding the flywheel cover in place.  I couldn't budge the nut using a 15/16" wrench.  I got my 1/2" drive breakover bar and a cheater pipe and tried to remove the nut.  I broke the breakover bar!  Since I needed to get some offroad diesel for the tractor and to check on the rotary mower to see if it was fixed, I decided to get a bigger ratchet and socket at an auto parts store while out.  So I bought a 3/4" drive ratchet and a 3/4" drive 15/16" socket, along with a 1/2" drive breakover bar to replace the one I broke.

When I got home I attempted to remove the nut using the 3/4" drive ratchet and socket.  This time the nut rounded off on the corners!  What the ...!  Finally, I bent down to get a really good look at the nut to see why it would not come loose.  That's when I noticed that the nut had been welded to the frame of the chipper.  I was supposed to loosen the bolt, not the nut!   Once I loosened and removed the bolt, I was able to remove the flywheel cover.  By banging on the flywheel in the direction opposite from the direction used to cut the wood, the stuck wood became slightly looser.  I set the feed rate to 0 and the direction of feed to be reversed.  Then I started the tractor and engaged the PTO.  The flywheel was able to turn.  Then I set the feed rate to full speed and the stuck wood popped right out.  But by that time, I was drenched in sweat and decided to quit for the day.  So we will tackle the wood chipping tomorrow.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

The T.M. video was new yesterday so not surprised you hadn't seen it. I don't know what time it was posted. I usually refresh all the YouTube channel pages I follow starting about 9 PM to see if anything new was posted (though I suppose I could just check the alerts).

I didn't go to his "sales" page to check the price on the sprayer since I don't have need of one. Based on the prices he mentioned for some optional things, it isn't cheap. It does look like a very good one, probably not quick hitch compatible given the shape.

I think you only get 1/2 Zinger™ for the flywheel nut, the only thing you broke was the breakover bar. Rounding a welded nut causes no damage. And now you have a 3/4 drive for those bigger machines. I got some larger size wrenches, 1/2" drive ratchets and sockets from DW's uncle when he and his wife moved to the retirement community years ago. I didn't have great need for them but they've proven most useful now that I have a garden tractor and a real tractor. I think a thank you to Uncle Charles every time I use them.


----------



## Baymule

STA, the best jokes are the ones we tell on ourselves, thanks for the giggle. The only way to never make a mistake is to sit naked on the floor in an empty room forever. Since that doesn't sound like very much fun, getting out there and breaking stuff is vastly more interesting. At least you realized it before you broke the welds loose.


----------



## Bruce

I'm impressed that he was able to break the breaker bar!


----------



## Baymule

That takes real talent.


----------



## CntryBoy777

One thing is for sure....ya won't make that mistake again.......I certainly have many examples of somewhat the same "experience".....when the "lite goes on"....it is habitual to look around and see if anyone "witnessed" it.....


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> I'm impressed that he was able to break the breaker bar!





Baymule said:


> That takes real talent.



Having a foot long cheater pipe on the end is what enabled me to do it.

This morning we get back at it again, chipping the brush pile.  I managed to get another tree jammed in the flywheel again, but this time the nut holding the wrench knew not to try to loosen the welded nut!  The tree easily unjammed and we got back after it.  But by 10 AM we were exhausted.  Plus, I am a bit more cautious about continuing to work in the heat, because the first day James and I started building the fence along the drive I worked too long and ended up with heat exhaustion.  It took me several hours to recover from that.  But since my Beautiful Gal and I are (as Miss @farmerjan put it) "retarded", then we can work as long as we want and we can quit when we want.  I feel really sorry for folks who have to work out in the heat all day.  I guess a person can get accustomed to the heat, but it certainly takes a toll on a body, especially as s/he gets older.    But we plan to stay at it until the pile of brush is completely chipped, which at the rate we are going should be some time this fall.  

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

That’s what we do. We go out early to work then quit anywhere from 11AM to 1PM. Too hot, not worth killing our selves over it.


----------



## Bruce

CntryBoy777 said:


> .it is habitual to look around and see if anyone "witnessed" it.....


Except here on BYH - we tell all and award ourselves a Zinger™ award.


----------



## CntryBoy777

Yeh....but if nobody saw it we can embelish it a bit and nobody knows any better.........


----------



## Bruce

I don't know, we manage to do things so well they don't need embellishment!


----------



## CntryBoy777

Don't overdo it out there STA....that heat can grab ya pretty quickly....don't ignore the "signs"....and for goodness sake, if ya stop sweating....it is critical to get inside and cool down ASAP.....chipping wood ain't worth it.....


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

CntryBoy777 said:


> Don't overdo it out there STA....that heat can grab ya pretty quickly....don't ignore the "signs"....and for goodness sake, if ya stop sweating....it is critical to get inside and cool down ASAP.....chipping wood ain't worth it.....



Thanks, Mr. @CntryBoy777!  My Beautiful Gal and I are taking care of ourselves.  With the temperatures supposedly dropping a bit this coming week maybe she and I will be able to work longer than we do now, which is about 2 hours!

I keep forgetting to get before pictures, so I will try to remember some "during" pictures of the brush pile and 3 days of chipping.  As for


Bruce said:


> I don't know, we manage to do things so well they don't need embellishment!


that certainly applies to me!  I screw up often enough and bad enough that I don't need to embellish them!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

We find that we can work outside several hours with an early start, then lay up under the AC.....


----------



## Bruce

And you start working at the temps I start melting! The hot and humid has left for now, time to go out and get some work done.


----------



## RollingAcres

Bruce said:


> The hot and humid has left for now


We survived this weekend's hot and humid weather. It has left for now but will be back later this weekend.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Today it is a bit cooler and overcast, but we did not work on the brush pile.  My Beautiful Gal overworked her back a bit, and I had an appointment to get my F350 serviced and address a safety recall -- engine block heater can overheat and cause a fire.  Since I have yet to use the engine block heater, then it didn't affect me, but if I ever were to move up where Mr. @Bruce or Miss @RollingAcres or Miss @misfitmorgan reside, I would most likely need it.

I finally remembered to take pictures this morning before going to the Ford place.  The first picture is of the brush pile looking southwest.  The chipped wood pile in the foreground is from the powerline company from last year after they trimmed a lot of the trees.  The second picture is of the brush pile looking southeast.

  

The third picture is of the first day of chipping.  We didn't get far before I jammed the tree in the chipper and then broke the breakover bar trying to loosen the welded nut.  Dummy me started chipping where we were in full sun.  We moved the next day.
 

The fourth picture is the pile after I was smart enough to get in the shade.  This is 2 days of chipping:
 

We hope to start back chipping tomorrow.  The weather looks nicer (cooler) for the next few days:


 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Looks like you'll have some nice nights to cool the house down without running the A/C.

Engine block heater 
in Arkansas


I'm guessing the likelihood of you moving to somewhere you would ever plug it in approaches 0% ... from below. But I'd welcome you if you did.


----------



## RollingAcres

I hope your Beautiful Gal's back ease up for her. STA, you worked her too hard!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> I'm guessing the likelihood of you moving to somewhere you would ever plug it in approaches 0% ... from below. But I'd welcome you if you did.



Thanks, Mr. Bruce!  I'd be thrilled to have you and Miss RollingAcres as neighbors!  If it continues to get hotter each summer, moving up north sounds better and better.  Had we found what we were looking for back in early 2018 in Cheyenne, WY, at a price we could afford, we'd be living there now!



RollingAcres said:


> I hope your Beautiful Gal's back ease up for her. STA, you worked her too hard!



I agree, Miss RollingAcres!  Yesterday, she did the pulling out of the trees and branches from the brush pile while I fed the chipper.  I have done both jobs and the pulling out of the trees and branches is a lot harder, thanks to there being so many vines that are tangled around them.  I will try to do that job tomorrow and let my Beautiful Gal feed the chipper!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

She probably won't cram the big pieces in when it is running full speed 


Cheyenne huh? I guess you aren't as allergic to cold as I thought. If it keeps getting hotter, I'm betting DW will push for a move north. And given our current location, that would be Canada.


----------



## misfitmorgan

Bruce said:


> She probably won't cram the big pieces in when it is running full speed
> 
> 
> Cheyenne huh? I guess you aren't as allergic to cold as I thought. If it keeps getting hotter, I'm betting DW will push for a move north. And given our current location, that would be Canada.



Now now you have that tiny peice of New Hampshire and all of Maine before you resort to Canada.....or move out west....much colder winters in places like Montana.


----------



## Baymule

3 months of summer and 9 months of winter? No thanks! I'll keep my 11 months, 29 days of summer and 1 day of winter! 

Ok, y'all are gonna laugh, but we use the block heater on DH's 2004 F250 diesel truck. He likes it because he doesn't have to wait for the heater to warm up.


----------



## RollingAcres

Bruce said:


> If it keeps getting hotter, I'm betting DW will push for a move north. And given our current location, that would be Canada.


You can move to Alaska.


----------



## RollingAcres

Baymule said:


> Ok, y'all are gonna laugh, but we use the block heater on DH's 2004 F250 diesel truck. He likes it because he doesn't have to wait for the heater to warm up.


----------



## AmberLops

How bout' Minnesota?...it's freezing!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

What a difference 10º F makes!  Today we were able to do 3 grapple loads of trees and brush in the chipper compared to 1 grapple load each of the previous 3 days.  What slows us down the most now is disentangling the trees and bushes from the vines.  We were hoping the chipper would be able to handle it all, but the vines tend to clog up the feeder chute, even with the hydraulic feeder trying to pull them in.  We managed to get 2 trees stuck in the chipper, but now that I have had plenty of practice taking off the flywheel cover, it only takes about 5 minutes to unclog the flywheel.  We have also learned to be quick to reverse the feed whenever we hear the chipper slowing down.  That way the chipper can keep running and reverse the feeder, then we switch the feeder back into the flywheel once it gets back up to speed.  We stopped today because we were losing our shade and because my Beautiful Gal got something in her eye.

Regarding cooler climates, yes, we looked for cooler places to reside.  We looked in northern New Mexico in the Rockies, in Colorado in the Rockies, and in Wyoming, both in the Rockies and even in the plains areas.  We never found a place in any of the states that we liked and could easily afford.  We saw several places and around Cheyenne, but almost all of the ones we could afford were in subdivisions.  We had vowed that we would not live in another subdivision again, as we had done so our entire (then) 42 years of marriage.  We almost bought a house 15 miles west of Cheyenne that had 18 acres.  I really loved the house (4000+ sf), windows all around, views of the Rockies south and west of us.  The biggest reason we didn't buy it was that my Beautiful Gal didn't like the house that much.  And considering that it was > $450,000, I didn't want to buy that expensive of a house and my Beautiful Gal not outright love it.

After that experience, we decided to look in the eastern part of the US in the Appalachian mountains, from north Georgia all the way to Maine.  While we did find some properties that looked interesting, there were none that made us want to drive and see in person.  So we settled for searching in Oklahoma and Arkansas, giving up our wish for cooler summers for something that we both really liked.  That's when we found this place in Arkansas.

As for Minnesota, we didn't look in that part of the country.  Of all of the states we have yet to visit, there are 2 in New England -- Rhode Island and Connecticut -- and most of the Great Lakes states.  I have always wanted to see those states, but we never made it up there on vacation.  I know we wanted to reside in the mountains if we could do so, so maybe that is why we didn't look up there.  I still hope to go visit there one day.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## CntryBoy777

Well, if ya travel I-95....there is only 4mi across Rhode Island....ya better decide quick when ya get there....or you'll miss ya exit.....


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Hey, everyone, I would like you folks' opinions on how to preserve the fence posts that we just put up.  I saw a YouTube video on Red Tool House where he mentioned using used motor oil for repelling carpenter bees and I was thinking that maybe it would work as a preservative:




Thoughts?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Do you have carpenter bees?
I have no idea if that works but it seems he is protecting the posts but what about the beams and siding? Can't drill a hole in the end of a horizontal beam and expect the oil in the bottle to not flow out vertically.


----------



## Bruce

AmberLops said:


> How bout' Minnesota?...it's freezing!


Not this time of year it isn't!


----------



## AmberLops

Bruce said:


> Not this time of year it isn't!


True! Australia?


----------



## misfitmorgan

Baymule said:


> 3 months of summer and 9 months of winter? No thanks! I'll keep my 11 months, 29 days of summer and 1 day of winter!
> 
> Ok, y'all are gonna laugh, but we use the block heater on DH's 2004 F250 diesel truck. He likes it because he doesn't have to wait for the heater to warm up.



 We use the block heater in our 99 F250 in January and Febuary...otherwise no. It draws to much power to use it more then we have to. That might be because it's actually needed when it is -38F and has to run from about 9pm to 5am when DH leaves for work.


----------



## Baymule

Husband likes the instant “heater is warm” versus blowing cold several miles. LOL


----------



## Bruce

Baymule said:


> Husband likes the instant “heater is warm” versus blowing cold several miles. LOL


Simple answer: Don't run the fan the first mile!!!!! Doesn't take long for that engine to heat up.



AmberLops said:


> True! Australia?


I don't think it is ever cold in Australia!


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## AmberLops

Bruce said:


> Simple answer: Don't run the fan the first mile!!!!! Doesn't take long for that engine to heat up.
> 
> 
> I don't think it is ever cold in Australia!


I was just kidding because it's winter there now  but I don't think it's very cold...


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## RollingAcres

Bruce said:


> I don't think it is ever cold in Australia!





AmberLops said:


> I don't think it's very cold...


I was curious to find out so I googled it. Looks like their winter is more Fall-like weather for us. 
https://www.australia.com/en-us/facts-and-planning/weather-in-australia.html


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## rachels.haven

I'm a jerk. A few weeks ago sprayed the barn door and in the bee holes with the permethrin diluted for animal use when the number of holes got ridiculous and we still have no bees back boring holes-and I have a bunch of barn doors to patch now. I let it get way too bad.

I felt terrible though, because there were a bunch of non-aggressive yet highly destructive bees and larvae and pupa dying all over the grass afterward. BUT occasional spraying now while looking for another alternative might help your posts still exist in a few years in the mean time.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Do you have carpenter bees?
> I have no idea if that works but it seems he is protecting the posts but what about the beams and siding? Can't drill a hole in the end of a horizontal beam and expect the oil in the bottle to not flow out vertically.





rachels.haven said:


> I felt terrible though, because there were a bunch of non-aggressive yet highly destructive bees and larvae and pupa dying all over the grass afterward. BUT occasional spraying now while looking for another alternative might help your posts still exist in a few years in the mean time.



I wasn't referring to repelling carpenter bees from the fence posts, although if I have any, then I would like to do so.  I was referring to how he set a bottle of used motor oil on the top of the wood beam and in 4 or so days the oil had traveled the length of the post.  I was considering doing that to prevent the posts from rotting by repelling water.  Even though the posts are pressure treated, they will still eventually rot at the ground level, and I would like to slow that process for at least 20 years.  Do you folks think that an oil soaked post would last longer?

As for killing carpenter bees, please don't feel bad, Miss @rachels.haven.  I don't mind bees around as long as they leave me and my property alone.  But once they decide to be destructive, then I fight back.  They have a whole forest around my place and they are welcome to make their home in the many dead trees out there.  But when they decide to make their home in the boards of my house, then they have crossed a line.

As for cool places to reside, right now it is rather comfortable outside.  But once it starts warming up again this weekend, I will start pining again for a cooler place to reside.

Booneville, AR, where we currently reside:





Cheyenne, WY, where we almost ended up residing:




Thanks again for everyone's input.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## CntryBoy777

Where is @greybeard  at??.....I don't remember him mentioning anything about "oiling" a post, but was pretty sold on creosote posts as anchors.....mainly telephone poles....if that really was advantageous....I'm sure he would be doing it....plus, the oil would contaminate the surrounding ground...may or may not matter in that location, but will kill good and bad insect life.....


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## AmberLops

RollingAcres said:


> I was curious to find out so I googled it. Looks like their winter is more Fall-like weather for us.
> https://www.australia.com/en-us/facts-and-planning/weather-in-australia.html


Nice! Looks like they have pretty comfortable winters


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## RollingAcres

CntryBoy777 said:


> plus, the oil would contaminate the surrounding ground...may or may not matter in that location, but will kill good and bad insect life.....


that would be my concern as well.


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## RollingAcres

AmberLops said:


> Nice! Looks like they have pretty comfortable winters


Yeah, I wouldn't mind that kind of winters.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Calling all tractor owners!

How long do you warm up your tractor before revving up the engine?  My tractor redlines at 2900 RPM, but the PTO speed of 540 RPM is obtained by revving to 2500 RPM.  Normally when I first start the engine, I let it run at 1000 RPM as I drive slowly to where I am heading until the engine gets close to the operating temperature, then I will rev the engine to 1500 RPM for most of my tractor work.  Because the brush pile is close to the shop, the engine is still not in the operating temperature range before I reach the spot where we will start chipping.  I have been reluctant to rev the engine to the PTO 540 speed of 2500 RPM before the engine is completely warm.  But maybe I am worrying for no good reason.  I checked the owner's manual and there are no instructions regarding warming the engine before use.

Any comments?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

I think we need someone who has had tractors longer than you and I to answer that question! I think I usually let mine idle for about 5 minutes to warm up. Until I started using the flail there was no reason to crank the engine to 540 PTO speed (2,300 on mine I think). I could move the wood racks easily enough at 1,500 and where I had been using the backhoe and might want to run at 2,000 (dealer recommended 'normal' RPM) was far enough that the engine got up at least to 2 bars. Normal operating temp seems to be 4 bars as it has never gone above that even when it was 85°F.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

A little bit of this and that.  This morning we finished chipping up the brush pile.  I forgot to take a picture of the pile of chips.  I will try to take that tomorrow.  One thing I forgot to mention earlier when describing using the chipper is that sometimes when we try to get out of the way of the chipper, it can still whack us.  Both my Beautiful Gal and I have been whacked in the head by limbs as the chipper draws the trees and limbs into the chipper.  You can see in this video around the 7:55..8:03 mark where the guy, who is using the same make and model chipper as we have, gets hit in the groin by a tree as it gets drawn into the chipper:





Now another question for tractor owners: both yesterday and today, when a large limb got jammed in the chipper and the PTO shaft stopped turning, the tractor continued running because I have a "wet" PTO clutch on the tractor.  Once I got the chipper unclogged and started the tractor back up, the PTO shaft started turning even when I had the PTO clutch disengaged.  It was that way for some time (~10 minutes or so).  Finally the PTO shaft stopped turning.  But that concerns me, since I don't ever want the PTO shaft to turn when the clutch is disengaged.  Miss @farmerjan, you have used tractors quite a while -- have you ever seen anything like this?

Yesterday afternoon, my Beautiful Gal and I watched a documentary on Netflix titled "The Great Hack".  It is about the company Cambridge Analytica, which used the data gathered from Facebook to help companies and campaigns target potential consumers to get them to buy their products (either consumer goods or their votes).  It was shocking to learn just how much data companies have on individuals and how they can use that data to influence their behavior.  After watching it, I decided to delete a number of accounts I have with the different companies, or greatly reduce the amount of information I provide them.  For those of you who have Netflix accounts, I strongly urge you to watch the documentary.  It is almost 2 hours long, so set aside a block of time (although I guess you could watch it bits at a time).  If you do watch it, let us know what you think.

Tomorrow I will be taking my truck back to the Ford dealer, as they want to do some more troubleshooting of the front camera of the truck.  Right now, the image is blurry and it is not caused by the protective lens on the camera.  It may take most of the day, so I may be taking my Gator on the trailer with me so I won't be stuck at the dealership.

Tomorrow I also need to get the master bedroom A/C fixed.  It stopped getting cool on Friday afternoon, but we did not discover it until time to go to bed, after the A/C places had closed.  So I hope they will be able to come out and fix it before the end of the day.

Well, no more news from here in western Arkansas.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Sumi, please advise if I have violated the website's policies regarding the discussion of politics and/or religion.  I don't want to do that.  I have posted this in response to some comments that others made on another forum (mentioned below) as a bit of explanation, but I am not trying to provoke any kind of ranting, flaming, or any other such nonsense.

This post is to continue the conversation that was started on @CntryBoy777's journal (see https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...a-acres-adventures.34497/page-543#post-617615).

I know this forum is not intended for discussions of religion and politics, so I have tried to avoid mentioning those topics.  Some of the other contributors have alluded to politics at times, but I have studiously avoided it.  If there are two topics that get people's anger stirred up, it is those two topics.  And sadly, when people's emotions get involved, it usually results in more heat than light.  And I hate conflict when it can be avoid it.  I wish we would all treat each other with politeness and respect as fellow human beings.  Yet it seems that conflict is all we hear about these days, especially in the realm of politics.  I will tell everyone a little about myself, and then if anyone would like to comment, you are more than welcome, or better still, we can do PMs to each other, where others won't be involved.

When Mr. CntryBoy777 mentioned about going to get some rocks, I mentioned in my reply about being surprised about rocks being in Florida, then mentioned glaciers and moraines.  That was meant as a joke, as I knew there were rocks in Florida and that they were not deposited by glaciers; it is just that the rocks are buried beneath all of that sand!  Mr. @CntryBoy777 thought I was serious, I guess, and mentioned that he believed that the Creation (which I took to mean the entire universe, including the Earth) was less than 6,000 years old.  His comment was perfectly fine -- after all, it is his journal.  I also mentioned that I once believed that as well, which leads me to my telling a bit more about myself.

Many years ago, shortly after the dinosaurs died off, I was a good fundamentalist Bible-believing Protestant Christian for many years.  I attended church 3 times a week (Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, and Wednesday evenings).  I prayed every day, read the Bible every day.  I had doubts on occasion, but nothing serious.  Then one day in 1983 I read two books (that are probably no longer in print) that really shook my world view.  After having read those two books, I decided to read more deeply into science, including the theory of evolution and the age of the Earth and the Universe, this time reading the evidence for them.  (I had read many books against evolution while I was a fundamentalist Christian, but never any books in support of it.)  The more I read, the more doubts I had.  At one point, some time in 1987, for months on end, I could not sleep, knowing the stakes were quite high -- my supposedly immortal soul.  I asked God to show himself to me, make me see that He was real.  I continued reading, devouring all the books I could get my hands on, wrestling with these topics.  The more I read, the more the scientific and atheistic views seemed correct.  Finally, in 1988, I reached a decision.  I told God that if He existed, then any time He wanted to reach out to me, He was welcome to do so, but until that time, I was not going to worry about Him any more.  I am still waiting.

My wife got to her atheism by a different path.  She continued to believe in God and the Bible for many more years.  I did not badger her, pester her, or otherwise try to convince her one way or the other, as I figured that was her own private business.  Then in 1999-2000, she started having doubts.  She decided to study how the Bible came into existence.  We discovered the books and audio (now video) courses at The Teaching Company of Bart Ehrman, a professor at the University of North Carolina, who has written several books on the historical approach to studying the Bible.  We both were surprised at what we learned.  Finally, after about 2 years of learning, my wife also no longer believed.

So when Mr. @CntryBoy777 said what he believed, I fully understood, as I once believed that way as well.  Whenever anyone else says something regarding Christianity, most likely I will have believed it as well.

This will be my one and only post about either religion and politics.  This forum is not intended for either.  There are plenty of other forums for discussing those topics.  Others are free to post what they want on my journal or anywhere else about religion, politics, or any other topic.  If someone wants to PM me about these or any other topics, I will be glad to do so, with one stipulation -- you must treat me with politeness and respect, just as I promise to treat you the same way.  Otherwise, I will simply stop corresponding with you.  You can recommend to me books for me to read, or videos to watch.  I am willing to look at other points of view.  I believe now that I was wrong before, and recognize that _I might be wrong again_.  I hope that you will consider the possibility that you might be wrong as well.

I am sorry to posted such a lengthy post on such a volatile topic as religion.  As I said above, I promise not to bring it up again, except perhaps in a tangential fashion.  Now, back to goats and sheep and chickens and tractors and ...

Senile Texas Aggie


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## RollingAcres

I too will avoid talking about religion and politics anywhere.  You are so right, those 2 topics can really stir up some anger in people. I believe we all have the rights to believe what we want or support any "party" we choose or support whatever rights as long as it's not hurting anyone else.


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## Sumi

@Senile_Texas_Aggie no worries  You haven't broken any rules that I could see. We discourage political and religious discussions on our forums, because they tend to get a bit heated, as you said. But we don't completely prohibit mentions of them, etc, as long as the discussions stay civil.


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## CntryBoy777

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> When Mr. CntryBoy777 mentioned about going to get some rocks, I mentioned in my reply about being surprised about rocks being in Florida, then mentioned glaciers and moraines. That was meant as a joke, as I knew there were rocks in Florida and that they were not deposited by glaciers; it is just that the rocks are buried beneath all of that sand! Mr. @CntryBoy777 thought I was serious, I guess, and mentioned that he believed that the Creation (which I took to mean the entire universe, including the Earth) was less than 6,000 years old. His comment was perfectly fine -- after all, it is his journal. I also mentioned that I once believed that as well, which leads me to my telling a bit more about myself.


I figured ya was kidding, or thought ya was....I was just stating that the "assumption" of such what is taught and widely accepted, is not a theory that I am inclined to embrace....I am neither upset, "fired up", or any of that mess....each has the freedom to believe as they wish....I just ask for equal opportunity to state mine...if you state yours....too many are willing to share theirs, but unwilling to allow another to voice theirs.....I have experienced that many, many times........it is all Good STA....ya still "rock" ...imo...


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## rachels.haven

You're allowed to be atheist even in a whole group of Christians. We're supposed to be good at loving people and trying not to judge or being clannish or mean (although you and I both know we're definitely not perfect). I'm not sure, but I think you're in a pretty mixed group as far as religion goes. It takes all sorts to make up BYH considering our unifying factor is some variation on managing farms and farming. I think you're going to be okay. It looks like Mr. Fred is okay. Hopefully nobody else will give you a hard time-I doubt it.

On a different note, I feel bad for that guy that got hit by that branch. It was so fast I missed it the first time. It looks like shredders are mighty dangerous-like they can push and pull things around quite quickly and hard. Be careful out there. A head shot is more dangerous in the long term than a crotch shot.


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## Baymule

STA we are a family. A family is made up of individuals, not necessarily all the same, but different. If we were all the same, the world would be a boring place.


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## farmerjan

Having Native American... or Indian as we still say..... ancestors on my fathers' mothers' side, I have some different beliefs than the strictly methodist type upbringing I had.  Not saying I don't believe in a higher being because I do.... but I am not so blind to discount some of the evolution theories.  And my higher being may not exactly jive with some of what I was taught.  Still, doesn't mean I am going to tell someone to go to " where ever" if they think different than me.  One thing I find hard to tolerate are religions that are oppressive to women, as some of the extreme Muslims are.  Since many Native American tribes had matriarchial lines, it is especially distasteful  actually downright offensive to me, for people who want to keep women subserviant.  And yes, many tribes of Native Americans were warlike and kept slaves too. But it was not practiced as a whole idea for everyone, just those they considered slaves.  Still they thrived on fighting their enemy, other tribes, and that was their way.  Just like we kept slaves, IT IS IN THE PAST.  WE CANNOT CHANGE THE PAST,  But we have to go forward from here. 

So different beliefs for different folks.... All the "politically correct" terms for people that I still call "gay", and have trouble understanding some of what they do and believe in....... well, okay for them.  DO NOT shove it in my face.  Live the way you want.  Show me some respect and I will show you some.  I may not agree, but I won't tell you what to do unless it is harmful or abusive to someone.  I will  NOT tolerate any abuse of children.  I think a gay livestyle is not natural or normal.  But I am not living your life.  If I do not want to socialize with you, that is my choice.  If I do  not want to bake a cake for your same sex marriage, that is my choice.  Go find someone who is willing to do it.  If I simply prefer not to do something, without making a big deal over it but simply decline, that is my choice.  If you think you have a right to something like that, then I should have a right to refuse to do something.  I have a right to stand up and say I do not like your way of life.  I'm not being hateful or predjudice, I am simply saying I prefer to not participate in your situation. I did n ot tell you that you couldn't do it;  I simply don't want to be a part of it.

Understand that Native Americans had their "gays" and they revered them in some ways.  They were tolerated and left alone to do their own thing.  They were not really even shunned, but were taken care of  a part of the tribe.  But it was not shoved into everyones face day after day and no one was forced to participate in that persons' life.  That is how I feel about other's  different beliefs, and non-beliefs.  I might learn something.  Might not agree.... but it is your way.  I prefer to "hang with" people of like minds as I believe, but am not so ignorant to think that others cannot contribute positive things to life.

Sorry, this was not meant to be a rant either.  I just have had to deal with some real adamant people lately that cannot and will not allow someone with "different ideas" to express themselves, and agree to disagree.  And yes they were "gay".


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## Baymule

Live and let live.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Much thanks to each one of you who responded for your understanding and acceptance.  That makes me feel a lot better.  There are a lot of wonderful people on this forum, and I have enjoyed interacting with you and look forward to it in the future.  I hope to be able to continue to laugh at myself, either in the form of Texas Aggie jokes, or in the stupid stuff I do, like banging my head into the loader bucket or ripping off my tractor canopy going under low hanging branches.  You are welcome to laugh along with me.

Now, back to goats and sheep and chickens and tractors and ...


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## Bruce

I look at it this way: " I don't care if you are _____ as long as you don't care that I'm not".

Fill in the blank with most any noun, gender, religion, race, etc. It ASSUMES that whatever that blank is filled in with doesn't do harm to others. I do make exceptions, for instance that blank better not be filled in with something like "pedofile" because that isn't acceptable EVER. 

I guess that puts me in Bay's "Live and let live" camp.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Once I got the chipper unclogged and started the tractor back up, the PTO shaft started turning even when I had the PTO clutch disengaged. It was that way for some time (~10 minutes or so).


That is downright scary and dangerous! If the PTO lever/button/whatever is disengaged, the PTO shouldn't be engaged. Others with more knowledge can chime in but I think I'd be having a mechanic looking at it ASAP.


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## farmerjan

Sorry I didn't address the PTO question.  No, I do not know of any reason why it should continue to turn if it is "off".  The lever system on our old Farmall H does not stay in the off position, so the pto will turn alot of time.  Know it, watch out for it.  Someday, we would like to redo this old tractor, and at that time it will get fixed.  Also understand this is a "dinosaur" as tractors go, (40's era maybe) and it has very little power in comparison and the pto can be turned off , just doesn't stay off.  Not ideal, but no one uses that tractor but my son and I and it is mostly just me.  I don't know the difference in a "wet" pto or other.... Maybe my son would know.  But I agree with @Bruce , I would have it looked at.  The new tractors are so complicated and involved, and there are sensors and all sort of stuff that just aren't on the many "ancient" tractors we have.  The couple of big tractors, and the newest, are practically beyond me as far as running them.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks to all for the advice on the PTO.  I will probably have it checked out some time this summer.  Unfortunately, right now, because it is hay season, the shops are backed up with work.  But I will get it checked out.  Thanks again.


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## Mike CHS

My Kubota got to where I started having issues shutting off the PTO.  Mine has a lever attached to a cable that runs through a shaft and down to the actual shut off.  It turned out the cable had gotten corroded and the result was that the cable would not go through the shaft but bent just down from the lever. The fix was to change the cable plus I now park that part of the tractor under shelter and it doesn't get any rain on it.


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## Bruce

Looks like a good place to start Mike. I know some PTOs are electronically controlled, those would present a whole other bags of worms to look in. But if it is purely mechanical, like mine is, there should be a visible "foot bone connected to the leg bone" path to follow.


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## Bruce

Here is a new video for you STA




At the end he talks about the hammers he is using to beat all the bigger stuff up. One can, of course, have a set of hammers and a set of knives and install the ones appropriate for the upcoming task. Of course it takes time to get the swapped. One of the things I like about the WoodMaxx is that the rear has an operable door so you have really good access to the parts inside. It comes "locked down" with bolts and nuts, I replaced them with clevis pins. No need to break out 2 wrenches if something gets caught up while out mowing.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks for the comments about the PTO.  I will look into it soon.  And thanks, Mr. @Bruce, for the YouTube video.  I watched another video of his where he mowed around different objects, but did not notice this video, so thanks for posting this.  I now see that flail mowers are not as fragile as I somehow thought they were.  As for how you modified your flail mower, if you are willing, please post pictures of your modifications.  I may want to do something like that to some of my implements as well.

I have been offline a couple of days due to having to deal with our truck being in the shop to replace a front camera that had gone bad.  Once I got the truck back, then the shredder was finally ready, so I got that back from the shop.  While I had the trailer hooked up to the truck, I decided to take all of our scrap metal that I had picked up from the garbage dump in our woods to Van Buren, where there is a scrap metal place that will buy it.  It was 1800 pounds of scrap, so at $0.035 / lb, I got a little bit of diesel money for my trouble.  Better that than having to pay to dump it.

This morning I hooked up the shredder to the tractor and mowed a strip along the driveway.  No issues with the PTO clutch staying engaged.  Maybe that only happens when the PTO clutch gets hot such as when the shaft stops rotating the way it did with the wood chipper.  I hope that is the case.

I promised to get a picture of the wood chip pile after we finished, so here it is:

 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

That video was so new when I posted, it was still wet  YouTube makes you look like a rank amateur stalker! Watch something from someone, more of their stuff will show up as "suggested for you". Watch a video on a topic and more of that sort of thing will be suggested.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Yesterday my Beautiful Gal and I took the day off, as it rained most of the day.  Today she needed to do laundry, so I decided to mow the overgrown south pastures, at least the part of them I have yet to mow this year.  Here is how tall the grass was after I had cut a few rounds.  It was so thick and lush that I had to mow in 1st or 2nd gear (on a 12 fwd, 12 rev transmission) so the mower wouldn't bog down):
 

Even then the mower would bog down sometimes.  I finally decided to raise the front half of the mower some, and the mower went to cutting better.  Here is a picture of two rows on the right where I had the mower lower, and two rows on the left where I raised the mower deck.  Notice how the grass is clumped in the right two rows and not in the left two rows:
 

My question to you folks who have a rotary cutter/shredder/brush hog: how do you set your mower?  With the front end lower than the rear, higher than the rear, or the same level?

As for the PTO shaft, it was not turning when I started the tractor this morning and drove to the south pastures with the clutch in the off position.  But by the time I had finished mowing, drove back and then put up the tractor, it was spinning with the clutch in the off position.  I looked under the tractor to see the mechanism from the PTO clutch lever.  This was simply a crank that fed directly into the transmission housing, so I could not see anything wrong on the outside (which means that the problem is on the inside and will cost a lot of money to fix! ).

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

That is a bummer! But I'd rather you pay the money than lose limbs, or your life!!
At least it does shut off when the tractor motor is off.

On a practical note, even if you never get your body close to it when it is turning on its own, it means you can't stop it if you need to like if you hit a rock or something. And what happens if you are in the thick stuff or find a hidden length of wire and can't shut down the blades? Will the tractor stall out in an inconvenient (or potentially dangerous) place?

From the looks of it, that stuff doesn't look near as tall as the stuff I was cutting. But then I had the mower set to its highest position, 4". You were a lot lower. I can't see me wanting to cut the field any lower than that anyway. I think brush hogs will cut as high as close to a foot which would be useful if you have tall thick stuff and need to whack it to a reasonable height before going to the final level on the second pass.


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## Mike CHS

Some of my paddocks I will cut down to 4" after the sheep finish it up but I have a couple that I only cut down to about a foo tall.


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## farmerjan

We try to set our bush hogs level, but we also mow high so as not to cause the grass to get burnt if we get a hot spell after bushogging.  There are spacers we put on the hydraulic arm so that it will only go down so far.  You then can run it in the float position, which is easier on the tractor hydraulics, and it can't slowly "float lower" . I don't know if you can use them on smaller tractors with bush hogs, as I don't know the dynamics of the hydraulic cylinder that lowers it.  I would say that we don't mow lower than 8" or more, at least. Sometimes I would like to lower it more but my son says no.  I have mowed them lower if they are calling for rain right when I am mowing and to even out the pasture where we have cows grazing. When you are mowing thick  tall stuff, if it is set low, then you are chewing up the stuff more than once as it cuts it off and cuts it up before you're done. So higher, means you aren't taking such a "big bite"  and it naturally won't bog down the mower as much.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks to all for your comments on the PTO and mower height.



farmerjan said:


> There are spacers we put on the hydraulic arm



Miss @farmerjan, I guess I have never seen such spacers.  Could you provide me with pictures?  I have a category 2 3-pt hitch, if that makes a difference.

Today I continued to mow the overgrown pastures.  It was a bit slow-going, as I got into the section where there are a lot of trees, so I was constantly maneuvering around them.  I also picked up some of the brush that the previous owner(s) left.  With the mower deck raised up, I didn't bog down but a couple of times.  And the PTO behaved this time.  It wasn't turning when I cranked up the tractor, and it would stop turning whenever I disengaged the clutch.  Maybe the tractor overheard my calling the repair shop this morning, when I asked how much it would cost to repair it.  They recommended replacing the whole PTO clutch kit, which would cost about $950 for the kit, plus another $300-400 in labor.  But they said that they were booked solid for quite a while, so no repairs to be done right away.  But if the tractor continues to behave properly, then maybe I will postpone the repair.

Last year I had mowed down a bunch of briars and bushes in the overgrown parts of the pasture.  Because I had neglected this year to mow those pastures until now, the sumac bushes had grown back up as tall as the tractor!  This is what it looked like before I mowed it:



Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

Sumac.  The red coating on the berries are actually a spice in the middle east. It has a lemony taste and makes a respectable 
lemonade. It is good on meat too. I harvested some, let the seed heads dry and rubbed them through a tea strainer to get the red coating off. I like knowing what plants provide for us. Only thing is, the sumac caused a reaction to me, I have chemical issues and some plants can set me off too. Oh well.


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## Bruce

I thought sumac was poisonous. Maybe there are different kinds? Or maybe like Rhubarb, only parts of the plant are toxic?

I mowed some today and did notice that pushing in the clutch (which on my HST is required to start the tractor as well as having your butt in the seat) will disengage the PTO.


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## Baymule

Here is the sumac of which I speak.


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## AmberLops

Baymule said:


> Here is the sumac of which I speak.


I noticed this stuff all over my property...guess i'll have to harvest some!


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## Baymule

AmberLops said:


> I noticed this stuff all over my property...guess i'll have to harvest some!


Sprinkled over lamb or other meats when done, gives it a tangy taste. Just don't overdo it to start with. I reacted to it, but I react to rosemary and several other culinary herbs. It makes a beautiful pink lemonade too.


----------



## AmberLops

Baymule said:


> Sprinkled over lamb or other meats when done, gives it a tangy taste. Just don't overdo it to start with. I reacted to it, but I react to rosemary and several other culinary herbs. It makes a beautiful pink lemonade too.


Got it!
I'll make some lemonade first, sounds good on a hot day!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

So, I can start harvesting these berries and selling their products as spices and tea mixes?  Wow!  I can see it now: "STA's All Natural, Organic, Non-GMO Herbal spices!  Proudly Made in the USA"  I'll be rich! 



Bruce said:


> pushing in the clutch (which on my HST is required to start the tractor as well as having your butt in the seat) will disengage the PTO



Sounds like your tractor has a live (two stage clutch): https://www.tractordata.com/articles/technical/pto.html

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

Ha ha ha!


----------



## Bruce

Baymule said:


> Here is the sumac of which I speak.


Yep, same stuff


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Not much has been happening here recently.  We have been clearing out some more undergrowth along the woods next to the driveway coming from the gate, but the change wasn't dramatic and thus didn't warrant taking pictures.

Yesterday I finally hooked up the tank sprayer to the Gator side-by-side.  We decided to spray behind the shop, where the weeds had gotten way out of hand.  The ground out there is very uneven, so I cannot mow it with the tractor or the Cub Cadet ZTR mower.  And it only recently dried out enough that we need not fear getting stuck.  But the Gator can handle that terrain, so we filled up the tank about half full and then drove out into the middle of overgrowth.  I drove while my Beautiful Gal sprayed.  After that we sprayed other areas where we had cleared out last year or earlier this year and the undergrowth had grown back.

Well, it's been awhile since I last mentioned the books that we have read recently, so I will do that now.

_The Weather Machine - A Journey Inside the Forecast_ by Andrew Blum.  We decided to read this book after enjoying reading about the National Weather Service in the book _The Fifth Risk._  The book explores the history of weather forecasting, along with the current developments.  Currently the best weather forecasting system was developed by a European group of countries, whose goal is to remain the best forecasting system into the future.

_Good and Mad - The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger_ by Rebecca Traisten.  My Beautiful Gal loved this book, while I was conflicted.  The author's thesis is that women's anger in the past helped to improve the modern world -- black male suffrage, women's suffrage, child labor laws, etc. -- and can help improve the world some more.  What caused my conflicting thoughts was that as a general rule I view anger as counterproductive, that we could accomplish more by trying to engage our opponents as equals.  When I see just how much anger is already in our political discourse, I think we would be so much better off if we could treat each other with respect, instead of viewing our opponents as either ignorant, crazy, or evil.  Yet there are times when anger is quite appropriate, such as for injustices by the strong against the weak.  So even though I am conflicted about this book and its theme, I am glad I read it, as I have seen the viewpoint of someone I had not considered before.  If a person only reads, listens, or watches books and shows that he or she already agrees with, he or she is not really learning anything.  So considering other points of view is important.

_Prisoners of Geography - Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World _by Tim Marshall.  This book considers 10 different maps (actually, regions of the world) and the geography illustrated by those maps that help to explain so much of human history.  Among the regions the author examines are Russia, China, the United States, Europe, Africa, South America, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, the Middle East, and the Arctic Ocean (I can't remember the others).  The different features of these regions, such as having navigable rivers (the US and Europe) or not (Africa), having mountains or not, narrow valleys making movement of armies difficult (Russia, eastern Europe), warm water ports or not (Russia), etc., have had tremendous effects on the different civilizations that sprung up there and on how susceptible the regions were to invasion by armies from other locations, or their invading other locations.  Very interesting book.

_Being Wrong - Adventures in the Margin of Error_ by Kathryn Shulz.  This is a book about knowledge, beliefs, and our willingness to recognize or not when we have made mistakes, either in our actions or in our beliefs.  She takes the position that we should not be embarrassed or ashamed when we make mistakes, but instead to seek to learn from them.  She goes through the different ways that we can make mistakes, including optical illusions, sensory deceptions, mistakes in inductive reasoning, etc.  She makes the point that we should not be so invested in our beliefs that we consider those beliefs as part of our identity, as that makes it much more difficult to recognize when we hold mistaken beliefs, as we have so much emotional investment in those beliefs.  A very interesting and educational book.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Is the ground uneven due to rock/ledge or could you smooth it out with a landscape rake? Sure would be nice if you could mow it.


----------



## farmerjan

@Senile_Texas_Aggie ;  you mentioned that I should do a video, but since I am "back in the stone ages" as far as a flip phone and not having a digital camera.... that's not going to happen anytime soon.  But you did mention about a video of "our Wyoming Life" and I have watched many of them on the computer.  A couple that I found to be very realistic and a good example are The History of the Ranch, Our Arrival part 1;  and for some of the real true to life nitty gritty of finances... Selling Calves at Auction, from Ranch to market. 
That is the essence of the beef cattle world.  We have more than 1 paycheck a year because we calve spring and fall, which gives us a little more flexibility on selling.  Also, we have markets, 4 all within 50-75 miles that we can haul a 20-24 ft trailer of calves...12 to 20 at a time... No tractor trailers like they were hauling out of their ranch.  Many markets for ranches out there are 3-6 hours away, or further.....so you make one trip when you get the calves up. 
Those calves pulled off the cows are called "trailer weaned", or wet calves, or some other names to indicate they are pulled directly off the cows;  as opposed to calves that are pulled off the cows, and fed separate for 30-90 days and sold as weaned calves.  You need a place with very good fences to wean calves, and they will lose a little weight as they learn to eat at a "bunk" and not just getting milk and grass.  There are different ways to do it and many farms in the east here do  not have places to wean calves and hold them.  Plus it is extra feed and there is no guarantee they will bring more money; although they often do bring .05 to .30 a pound more.  But, again, it is not always enough to cover the trouble, feed and time that you have to hold them.  
Note that they were talking about having to decrease the cow herd due to lower amounts of hay made and that there was not enough money to buy hay for yet another year. Which they had done for a couple of previous years. To drop their cow herd from 140 to 80 is going to really hurt the following year because that means there will be that many FEWER calves to be born, and that many less to sell the following fall.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Is the ground uneven due to rock/ledge or could you smooth it out with a landscape rake? Sure would be nice if you could mow it.



There are few rocks out there.  I have considered using my box blade to level it out, as I currently don't have a landscape rake.  The problem is that the area can be muddy and boggy a good bit of the time.  It wasn't until the start of August that it dried out completely, and by then the weeds had grown really high.  But if I can kill off the weeds so that I can see the ground, I may get inand level it out some and then mow it.



farmerjan said:


> But you did mention about a video of "our Wyoming Life" and I have watched many of them on the computer. A couple that I found to be very realistic and a good example are The History of the Ranch, Our Arrival part 1; and for some of the real true to life nitty gritty of finances... Selling Calves at Auction, from Ranch to market.



I have watched almost all of their videos.  (I usually skip the weekly roundup as they are a bit too long for my taste.)  Having watched the ones you mentioned, I got a better idea of what you and your son go through in producing hay and raising cattle.  I also watch the YouTube channel "North Texas Hay", where their only income is selling hay, mostly to stores that cater to horse owners.  (There are a lot of horse ranches north of Dallas, where they are located.)  So I watch these channels to see what you and others who raise hay and cattle go through.  Still, I wish you would start a YouTube channel.  All of your friends here on BYH would subscribe!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I need some advice regarding what to do with the western edge of my north pasture (the red area in the picture below):





The trees are not as dense as the picture makes them appear.  It seems at one time that section endured a fire -- there are several standing tree trunks that are burned, and there are a lot of burned limbs on the ground.  Several saplings are growing up.  I have picked up a lot of burned limbs from the ground, some of which are buried in the ground.  I would like to clear out that area enough to grow hay, or at least have it look a lot better than it does now.  I figure that I can do one of two things: (1) slowly nibble away at it with my tractor and grapple (and chainsaw and pole saw as needed), or (2) hire a dozier to clear it out in a day or two.  I am in no hurry to clear out the area, but maybe getting it all done at once would be worth it.  I have never priced dozier work before so it may prove to be too expensive for my bank account.  Have any of you hired doziers before?  How much did they cost?  Or maybe you might have suggestions regarding what to do with that area besides growing hay.

Comments?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Mike CHS

It's different for every location but our guy gets $130 an hour and he doesn't have a minimum time.  He said he's coming this week to fill our dry pond in and said it would take him most of the day.  I was going to have him help knock out some of the fence line that I'm working on but can't do it since just on the CSX side of the property line is a drainage ditch that carries the majority of water away from the railroad tunnel.  I doubt CSX would be happy with me if that ditch got filled in by the dozer.


----------



## Baymule

A bull dozer may be your best bet if there are large trees in there. They can be pushed up in winrows for burning. We hired one for property we used to have, but it was a neighbor across the street, so got a good deal.


----------



## Bruce

Mike CHS said:


> I doubt CSX would be happy with me if that ditch got filled in by the dozer.


Dozer? What dozer? I don't see a dozer. 

@Senile_Texas_Aggie I guess it depends on what you would be doing if you weren't clearing out the area. Do you enjoy taking down trees and brush or are you and your beautiful lady sick of doing that? Do you burn wood so the bigger trees are useful as firewood? If not do you know people who do? If you end up with a cord (for example) you could maybe sell it on Craigslist.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

No, we have no fireplace that will burn wood.  The fireplace we have is made only for the propane stove.  We MAY one day put in an outside wood stove as Miss @farmerjan once suggested.  I guess for now I will continue to nibble at it with the tractor and grapple -- one bite at a time.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

This morning I went back to eating the elephant -- gradually clearing out the overgrowth on the western end of my north pasture.  Before I got started, I took some pictures to give you folks some ideas of what it looks like:





Here is a view of the overgrown area from point A looking west:
 

Here is a closeup of the northern part of the elephant, point B, looking west.  The weeds are above my head.  You can see some of the burned trees still standing:
 

Here is a closeup of the southern half of the elephant, point C, looking west:
 

Here are the logs, limbs, etc., that I picked up off the ground in the small area that I managed to mow:


I worked for about 3 hours today, picking up logs and limbs, and mowing weeds and small trees.  At point C you may see where I mowed a tractor-wide lane through the saplings and weeds.  Today I started widening that lane to gradually clear it out.  I had the tractor in the second lowest gear as I mowed through there, taking out maybe 2 feet at a time for each pass.  There were several stumps in there that I had to go around, as I didn't want the shredder to hit them.  Around 11AM I decided to try to cut some on the northern end of the elephant, gradually cutting a 2 foot wide swath out with each pass.  I was doing OK until I hit either a yellow jacket nest or a honeybee nest (I think the latter).  They started swarming and one of the buggers stung me on my right middle finger next to the knuckle.  I decided right then that it was time to call it a day!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## CntryBoy777

It is easy to tell the difference between a yellow jacket and a bee....a bee leaves the stinger in ya and a jacket don't...jackets are in the ground and bees in a tree or limb, off the ground....hope it doesn't swell too bad on ya....the burned wood could've been from a lightning strike...if it was a forestry fire there might be some info in the archives of the local news or newspaper on it....that is how I found out the trees on this place that are leaning against others is storm damage from Irma....


----------



## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Well, it's been awhile since I last mentioned the books that we have read recently, so I will do that now.


Dear STA the books that you read are sure very interesting. I just wish I'm interested in reading non fiction books...


----------



## Bruce

Lots of good work there STA, glad you are doing it with a brush hog, a stump will do a number on a flail even with hammers. Sorry about the sting, did you get some benadryl on it?


----------



## Baymule

I can so identify with what you are doing! We only have 8 acres, nowhere near what you have. As far as clearing, we are on the downswing, you are on the upswing. If that was a yellow jacket nest in the ground, hope a skunk comes along and eats them for you. A skunk will clean out bees or yellow jackets.


----------



## AmberLops

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> This morning I went back to eating the elephant -- gradually clearing out the overgrowth on the western end of my north pasture.  Before I got started, I took some pictures to give you folks some ideas of what it looks like:
> View attachment 65333
> 
> Here is a view of the overgrown area from point A looking west:
> View attachment 65334
> 
> Here is a closeup of the northern part of the elephant, point B, looking west.  The weeds are above my head.  You can see some of the burned trees still standing:
> View attachment 65335
> 
> Here is a closeup of the southern half of the elephant, point C, looking west:
> View attachment 65337
> 
> Here are the logs, limbs, etc., that I picked up off the ground in the small area that I managed to mow:
> View attachment 65336
> 
> I worked for about 3 hours today, picking up logs and limbs, and mowing weeds and small trees.  At point C you may see where I mowed a tractor-wide lane through the saplings and weeds.  Today I started widening that lane to gradually clear it out.  I had the tractor in the second lowest gear as I mowed through there, taking out maybe 2 feet at a time for each pass.  There were several stumps in there that I had to go around, as I didn't want the shredder to hit them.  Around 11AM I decided to try to cut some on the northern end of the elephant, gradually cutting a 2 foot wide swath out with each pass.  I was doing OK until I hit either a yellow jacket nest or a honeybee nest (I think the latter).  They started swarming and one of the buggers stung me on my right middle finger next to the knuckle.  I decided right then that it was time to call it a day!
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


When I got stung by that bald-faced hornet I made a paste of baking soda and water...it really helps. That and some alcohol on the sting makes a world of difference  Just make sure if it was bee that you got the stinger out...


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I had on gloves when the bee or yellow jacket stung.  Once I felt the sting, I brushed off the bee/yellow jacket with my other hand.  I saw where the bees/yellow jackets were swarming on the ground.  It looked as if they were coming out of some rotten cedar logs in the ground.  While they looked like bees, and the sting felt like that of a bee rather than a yellow jacket, I have never known bees to build a hive in the ground, but maybe with the cedar it was big enough to make a hive in it.  I didn't put anything on the sting, as it didn't hurt bad enough to do so.  I certainly would have put something on it had it been worse, as I am a wimp when it comes to wasp/yellow jacket stings.

This morning I decided to spray again, as it seemed that the areas we sprayed last week weren't dying very fast.  This time I used the chemical, PastureGard I think, that Bob the Quail Guy left us to spray the sumac bushes in quail area.  That stuff worked great out there, so we'll see how well it works on where I sprayed.

While I am on the subject of pesticides and herbicides, I know that in Texas (and probably in Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, Vermont, etc.) a person could obtain a license that permitted him/her to spray more potent chemicals.  Do any of you know anything about that?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## AmberLops

I don't know...sorry i can't be of more help


----------



## farmerjan

Call your extension service.  They often will hold or know of a group that will hold a class for getting certified for pesticide applications.  Or call a local farm store that sells chemicals.  We get notices for recertification of pesticide liscense regularly. 
Think several times about using very many strong chemicals.  There are lawsuits now for Roundup which was supposed to be a very "safe" chemical.......
If the nest was in rotten cedar or other logs it could have been either although I don't think honey bees like cedar which has an odor naturally.  Yellow Jackets and the various different hybrids that have sprung up prefer to nest in rotten dead material, or in holes in the ground.  White tailed hornets are bigger, honey bees normally won't chase after you although some that have been "africanized" are said to be meaner.   I would assume you got into yellow jackets.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Today, I decided to go back to eating the elephant again.  I wish I had done something else, as it was expensive.  First, I decided to grease the tractor.  I got almost done when I ran out of grease in the grease gun.  After replacing the cartridge, I was able to grease 2 more fittings before the grease stopped coming out.  No matter what I tried, I was unable to bleed the air out of the grease gun.  I decided I would go ahead and go to the elephant and worry about bleeding the grease gun later.

I decided to take one of my Beautiful Gal's pole saws with me to cut trees and branches that I could not reach using the reciprocating saw.  That was a mistake.  After a couple of hours, as I made my way through the tall weeds and brush in the south part of the elephant, I knocked the pole saw off the tractor but failed to notice I had done so.  I ran over it and chewed it up with the shredder, but again didn't notice until the next pass, when I saw the part of the saw that holds the battery lying in the grass.  I shook my head in disbelief, and also felt sick because I had broken my Beautiful Gal's favorite tool.  (Fortunately we have a second one.)  I decided that was enough and I would go back home.  While driving back to the house, I decided I would mow along the edge of the pasture next to the trees.  While doing so, a tree limb knocked my stainless steel water jug off of the tractor, and I think I hit it with the edge of the mower (not the blade) and put a big dent in it.  Again, I didn't notice until I got to the driveway, when I noticed it was gone, so I had to go back and find it.  Here is a picture of the damaged pole saw, the other (intact) pole saw, and the dented water jug:

 

I think tomorrow, instead of going with the tractor, I will go in the Gator and carry more of the brush cutting tools with me.  Maybe I won't lose them that way!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Mike CHS

Every once in awhile I would carry tools in the front end loader bucket and came close a couple of times to running over something when it bounce out.  I quit doing that.


----------



## Bruce

Yeah, I've not found a good solution to carrying tools on the tractor. When I had the backhoe on I had a box a computer came in wedged between the back of the tractor seat and the BH controls. I could carry my logging stuff in that. Subsequently made a holder for the saw on the left side just behind the loader arms. But now with the flail on, I really don't have anywhere to carry stuff. I saw a ROPS rack on Tractor Mike, don't know what they cost and it would have to be removed if I wanted to use the BH.


----------



## Mike CHS

I use the Polaris almost all of the time now but when it goes in for work I still have a golf cart to use unless it's raining out and then I'm back to the tractor.


----------



## Baymule

We tend to do things as a team, do one on the tractor, one to drive the Kawasaki Mule, with the tools in the back. STA if working alone without your Beloved, perhaps transport the tools in the Gator, then go back for the tractor. Or maybe use tractor, then go get gator and use tools. Trying to do 2 things at once for maximum efficiency doesn’t seem to be working out.  I have dumped tools out of tractor bucket too.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Well, I have yet to go back to eating the elephant again.  Yesterday, my Beautiful Gal and I decided to go grocery shopping together.  I usually go by myself, but this time she went with me.  On the way home, we stopped and got some off road diesel to go in the tractor.  By the time we got home, it was almost 11 and already hot.  I decided to wait until today.  We had a bunch of thunderstorms come through last night, and when we got up this morning, it looked as if we were going to have more rain.  I have been waiting on the rain and it has yet to come through.  It seems to fall apart after it crosses the Oklahoma / Arkansas border.

If Mr. Greybeard were still on the forum, he would be telling me to stop coveting, as I have it bad right now.  What is it I am coveting?  Well, I saw this video on Tractor Mike's YouTube channel, and it hit me bad:





When I saw how quickly he was able to remove fairly large trees, I thought "Wow!  I need to think about getting one of those!"  So I looked for YouTube videos for brush cutting attachments for tractors, and found several.  Almost all of them are $5,000 or more, including the one shown by Tractor Mike.  Ouch!  But seeing how quickly they would cut down trees and brush, I am not all that eager to start back with my shredder, chain saw, pole saw, and reciprocating saw.

The last time this coveting happened was when I first watched Mike Morgan on the Outdoors with the Morgans YouTube channel using a grapple.  We had been clearing out around the pond by hand, but after I saw how much work he got done, I lost a lot of my enthusiasm for continuing to work.  I eventually got a grapple later that year and I have been so glad I did.  Would one of these brush clearing tools be worth the money?  I don't know, but it surely is tempting to buy one and find out!  Have any of you folks ever bought a tractor implement and regretted the purchase, think it was too costly for the use you got out of it?  Tell me all about your purchases, those you are glad you did and those you wish you did not.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Have any of you folks ever bought a tractor implement and regretted the purchase, think it was too costly for the use you got out of it?  Tell me all about your purchases, those you are glad you did and those you wish you did not.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie



No I haven't bought an implement and regretted it. What you need to do is weigh up your options. How long will it take you to clear and clean up your property? How much would it cost to have it forestry mulched like I had done? How much would it cost to hire a bull dozer? So you buy this, cut the trees and you still have trees to pile and burn. Maybe hire it done. Maybe buy the new toy to play with, get it done much quicker with less wear and tear on you and your lovely wife. Then you can move on to other things that y'all enjoy doing. After you get the work done, sell the implement to recoup some of the cost, which would lower the cost of the work you did, balanced against the cost of the bull dozer/forestry mulcher. 

Have you bought it yet? LOL


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Baymule said:


> Have you bought it yet?



Not yet.  I am browsing YouTube to see the different kinds and how much they cost.


----------



## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Not yet.  I am browsing YouTube to see the different kinds and how much they cost.


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Almost all of them are $5,000 or more, including the one shown by Tractor Mike.


I saw that too, looked pretty slick though I wonder about the possibility of a tree coming back on the tractor even with the metal "deflector". And yeah lots of money. It might be the kind of thing one affords if they are hiring themselves out. But Bay has a good point if you could use it and resell it, you could recover some cost. On the other hand, you have a lot of acreage and might use it for years as you clear one area or another.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Yesterday, my Beautiful Gal and I decided to go grocery shopping together. I usually go by myself, but this time she went with me.


I've noticed the bill is always a lot higher when DW goes with me.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> you have a lot of acreage and might use it for years as you clear one area or another.



That is what I am thinking, that I will use it for a number of years.  Still, while we aren't hurting for money, we are rolling in it, either.



Bruce said:


> I've noticed the bill is always a lot higher when DW goes with me.



That is what happened when my Beautiful Gal went with me!

Today, after waiting for the rain to begin on Friday, which it never did, and yesterday, when my Beautiful Gal and I made a table she wanted for the laundry room, this morning I decided to back to the overgrown area and continue cutting it down.  Just before finishing for the day, I took some pictures.  First, here is a closeup of what I have been cutting down to give you an idea of how thick it is:

 

Here's a look at one of the many stumps I had to go around when mowing:
 

Here is a view of the area I had carved out to try to clear.  You can see the tractor to the right.  The few trees that are standing were next to stumps.  I later cut them down with the reciprocating saw:
 

Well, the next step will be to continue heading west until I get to our property line.  Until then...

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

Hey, the good news is, that’s a bunch of sumac and the roots are still there. You get to mow them down AGAIN! And again and again....


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

We now have our own livestock!  We are now accidental pig farmers!  A sow pig wondered onto our property a couple of weeks ago.  I noticed it down near the pond when I drove up the driveway from a trip to town.  It stayed near the pond the whole day.  The next morning it was near our house.  It saw us when we went onto the front porch that morning and there it was next to the house.  It saw both of us but did not run, nor did it threaten us.  After that second day, we didn't see it anymore until this morning, when it was immediately in front of our porch.  Again, it was not afraid of us, nor did it threaten us.  Once we came in to eat breakfast, and then returned to the front porch, pig was gone.  Here is a picture of the sow:
 

Here is where the sow rooted up the lawn right in front of the steps of our porch:
 

I contacted a couple of our neighbors and they don't know of anyone who raises pigs.  I also contacted the county extension service agent to see what he recommends, but I have yet to hear back from him.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## frustratedearthmother

That's a big ol' sow!  And, wasn't she sweet to do some landscaping for you?!   Just wait til she brings you about 14 babies that want to landscape too...       Bacon tastes good - just sayin'!


----------



## RollingAcres

That's a big pig! So if no one claims her, what are you going to do with her?


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

RollingAcres said:


> That's a big pig! So if no one claims her, what are you going to do with her?



I don't know at the moment.  I will try to track down the owner, and if we can't find them, then I expect we will take it to auction, if possible.


----------



## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I don't know at the moment.  I will try to track down the owner, and if we can't find them, then I expect we will take it to auction, if possible.


I like what @frustratedearthmother said: 





frustratedearthmother said:


> Bacon tastes good - just sayin'!


----------



## Baymule

There are lots of escaped hogs running loose in the woods. There are some Hampshire marked piglets around here. One day we saw a Hampshire boar, gone feral, right on the side of the 4 lane highway, grazing the grass. Some people's pigs even jump out the back of trailers going down the highway.....


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Baymule said:


> Some people's pigs even jump out the back of trailers going down the highway.....



Latestarter's Flying Pig, he's the barnyard Mr. Big... (with apologies to Vic Damone)



RollingAcres said:


> I like what @frustratedearthmother said:



We both love bacon and ham.  Our problem is we don't have much freezer room.


----------



## Mike CHS

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Latestarter's Flying Pig, he's the barnyard Mr. Big... (with apologies to Vic Damone)
> 
> 
> 
> We both love bacon and ham.  Our problem is we don't have much freezer room.




You could do what we did and buy a third freezer.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

If you wanna haul her anywhere ya might want to start feeding her boiled eggs right now.  I swear - a pig would practically commit suicide for ya if ya'd bribe him with a boiled egg or six, lol.  That's the easiest way to get one in the trailer that I know of.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks for the tip.  I may need to put that into practice.


----------



## Bruce

Baymule said:


> Hey, the good news is, that’s a bunch of sumac and the roots are still there. You get to mow them down AGAIN! And again and again....



But so true.

I think the FIRST thing you need to do is make an enclosure in an area where you wouldn't mind the pig rooting, otherwise you might soon have a LOT of repair landscaping to do!

That is quite the jungle you have out there. Maybe the next implement needs to be a stump grinder. PITA to mow around all those old stumps every time. Say, maybe the pig would root around the stumps, make it easier for you to get them out.


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## AmberLops

Cute pig! You should keep her...maybe in a few days she'll have 20 piglets running around and you can sell those at the auction or make some bacon


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, the pig was here again this morning.  She decided that more of our lawn needed aerating:

 

I decided to visit the neighbors in person to see if they knew of anyone who raised pigs.  No one did, but one of them had seen 3 pigs a few months ago.  Another neighbor said that if I simply wanted to get rid of it, they would send someone to our house to get it.  I told them that was fine with me.  A few minutes ago someone from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission showed up (they are just east of our property) and asked about the pig, so I told him about it.  It has been visiting their facility frequently.  He told me that if I wished I could just shoot it.  I told him that if it becomes a nuisance that I would do that, but right now I will just try to scare it off.  I have a bunch of bottle rockets, and if I see the pig again in the morning I will just shoot the bottle rockets at her and try to scare her off.


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## Baymule

I hope you can get the pig problem solved.


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## CntryBoy777

Feral pigs are a nuisance....not to mention dangerous....a feral sow multiplies that nuisance and bottle rockets won't have much of an affect for long....scaring it off only pushes it for another to deal with it....and if there are any kids around there, they could be critically injured waiting for the bus....having the opportunity, ya better seize it....pigs are smart and if there are others around, it won't be long before they will join in too.....


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## B&B Happy goats

It is already a dangerous  nuisance  STA, ....if it's  that comfortable comming  up to your house, it will have no problem chargeing at you and your family or nearby  children if it has a mind to,  or gets frightened..... please shoot it ,...... if not for your safety,  then for the safety of others.


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## farmerjan

I'm with @CntryBoy777  in the idea of scaring it off will only put the problem on someone else.  Feral hogs are one of the most adaptable animals there are.  Shoot it or have someone else do it.  Talk to the neighbor people and see if they had someone come shoot it,  could you get them to gut it and find a butcher to work it up. No sense of wasting the meat.  A hog like that will taste good because she has been eating "clean food".  Seriously, call around to find a butcher, and then see if you can't at least get something back out of the "landscaping" it has done in the way of edible payment.

Feral hogs are such a problem in the southern states, Tx and into eastern states.  They have done more damage in the Smokey Mountain National parks than you can believe.  There are groups that hunt them in Tx because they are such a nusiance. And they carry diseases that are transmissible to cattle,  brucellosis being one.....

Get rid of it in a permanent manner.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks for all of your advice.  If the pig shows up tomorrow, I will take care of it.

Meanwhile, early this morning, the pig showed up again.  I had the bottle rockets ready.  We heard the pig snort at the south end of the porch (we normally sit at the north end), so I grabbed the flashlight, a cigarette lighter, and a handful of bottle rockets and went toward the south end of the porch.  I turned on the flashlight and saw the pig about 20 feet away.  I lit the bottle rocket, switched it to my right hand, which was also holding the lighter, and threw the bottle rocket at the pig.  The cigarette lighter went flying out of my hand into the yard.  The bottle rocket hit the eave of the porch, went down to the lawn, and when the rocket ignited, it shot back up to the porch, ricocheted off the porch ceiling, ricocheted off the wall of the house and went north along the wall to my Beautiful Gal.  It hit a chair just south of her and then exploded!  We were in more danger than the pig!

For the second attempt, I went and found the lighter in the yard, went back to the porch to try again.  By this time, the pig had moved off a ways.  I lit the second one and threw it, and again the cigarette lighter went flying into the yard, and the second bottle rocket curved up but the motor didn't ignite until it was headed back down, so the rocket simply plowed into the ground and spewed, then finally going off.

This time the pig was well away from the porch, but still in the yard.  For the third attempt I knew to throw down the cigarette lighter on the porch before throwing the bottle rocket.  This time the bottle rocket went at an angle in the direction of the pig, but still well short.  The fourth one went out a little farther, but by this time the pig was out in the pasture.

So my attempts at scaring the pig may or may not have worked.  But if it did not, then I will take y'all's advice and deal with it permanently.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> So my attempts at scaring the pig may or may not have worked.


They scared me! At least for the safety of you and your Beautiful Gal!!!

And, um, there may be a reason they are called BOTTLE rockets my friend 

Good luck with the pig tomorrow.


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## Baymule

The Most Impressive Grand Pooh-Bah of Voo-Doo Bottle Rocket Wild Hog Scare'ems went to WAR on a pig that obviously had not heard of the FEARSOME reputation of our dear friend. Yea, though she walked through the Lawn of the Valley of Voo-Doo Bottle Rockets, she was not afraid. For she was not impressed by the failed flinging of cigarette lighters, bottles and escaping off target bottle rockets.


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## Mike CHS

As I read that post I was thinking he was saying all of that to make us smile and I still believe that.


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## AmberLops

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Thanks for all of your advice.  If the pig shows up tomorrow, I will take care of it.
> 
> Meanwhile, early this morning, the pig showed up again.  I had the bottle rockets ready.  We heard the pig snort at the south end of the porch (we normally sit at the north end), so I grabbed the flashlight, a cigarette lighter, and a handful of bottle rockets and went toward the south end of the porch.  I turned on the flashlight and saw the pig about 20 feet away.  I lit the bottle rocket, switched it to my right hand, which was also holding the lighter, and threw the bottle rocket at the pig.  The cigarette lighter went flying out of my hand into the yard.  The bottle rocket hit the eave of the porch, went down to the lawn, and when the rocket ignited, it shot back up to the porch, ricocheted off the porch ceiling, ricocheted off the wall of the house and went north along the wall to my Beautiful Gal.  It hit a chair just south of her and then exploded!  We were in more danger than the pig!
> 
> For the second attempt, I went and found the lighter in the yard, went back to the porch to try again.  By this time, the pig had moved off a ways.  I lit the second one and threw it, and again the cigarette lighter went flying into the yard, and the second bottle rocket curved up but the motor didn't ignite until it was headed back down, so the rocket simply plowed into the ground and spewed, then finally going off.
> 
> This time the pig was well away from the porch, but still in the yard.  For the third attempt I knew to throw down the cigarette lighter on the porch before throwing the bottle rocket.  This time the bottle rocket went at an angle in the direction of the pig, but still well short.  The fourth one went out a little farther, but by this time the pig was out in the pasture.
> 
> So my attempts at scaring the pig may or may not have worked.  But if it did not, then I will take y'all's advice and deal with it permanently.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


You're crazy!
That would scare me...I don't think i'd ever come back 
A couple years ago when I lived in PA, I had neighbors who did fireworks all year round and threw M-80s on my roof in the middle of the night


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, the bottle rockets must have made the pig laugh instead of be afraid, as she was back this morning.  She wasn't as close as before.  This time she was out in the pasture, I guess 50-75 yard away.  It was barely light enough to see.  I got the 22, leaned up against the porch post to steady myself, and fired.  The pig moved but didn't run.  I aimed and fired again.  Again the pig moved but didn't run.  I aimed and fired a third time, a fourth time, and a fifth time.  At the fifth time I am guessing she was 150 yards away.  Here is an approximate view of the firing area and shots:





So the only thing I accomplished was to prove I need a good bit more practice with my 22!

About 30 minutes later, after I had tried to shoot her, we heard 3 gunshots east of us in the Arkansas Game anf Fish area.  There was about 5 seconds between the first shot and the second, then about 30 seconds between the second and third.  I am guessing the first or second shot wounded the pig, and the third shot was when someone walked to where the pig was for the finishing shot.

Just in case the shots we heard were not at the pig, once we finished breakfast, we rode around in the Gator looking for the pig but did not see it.  If it shows up tomorrow, I will try again to shoot it, and this time I will try to aim even more carefully.

Later today, I took the tractor to Alma to have the curl function hydraulic pistons repaired, as they have been leaking internally ever since I tried to pull up a cedar tree stump with the grapple.  The stump won, although I did cut it down to the ground with the reciprocating saw!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

You need something with more "knockdown" power than a .22  unless you are a crack shot;  you would have to hit her exactly right for it to put her down quickly. I realize that a .22 can kill, but there is alot of fat and tissue that could wound but not kill.   Hopefully someone got her.  But realize that this may not be the end of it.  You said that there were 3 that were originally seen.  Feral hogs breed faster than rabbits and they run near as fast. Spend a little time on the internet and look up feral hogs in Texas, and see to what lengths they go with traps and such to kill them.  They are a menace  and very destructive.  Your lawn is a good example.


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## Mike CHS

That was also a fairly extreme range for that gun.  You can set up some boxes at various distances to even see if you are hitting anything.  There is a lot of drop at 150 yards, from 19-25" and depending on the quality of the cartridge, it could be as much as 55".


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I plan on seeing just how much drop soon.  I need to set up a shooting range and get better with the gun.

The pig was back this morning, so whoever shot at her didn't kill her.  This time she was quite a bit closer.  But she was headed away from me, so all I could see was her rear end.  My first shot definitely hit her, as I heard the bullet impact.  She took off running.  I fired 3 more shots, don't know if I hit her.  It was quite dark.  I wanted to go get the Gator and look for her, but my Beautiful Gal advised to wait until it got lighter.  I agreed.

After it got light, we both noticed a tan colored object next to the burn pile.  It looked like the pig was lying down.  I was hoping that she was dead.  We decided to eat breakfast and then go down in the Gator and finish her off.

By the time we finished breakfast and started driving down in the Gator, we saw that she was standing up again, so she definitely wasn't dead.  She had blood running down her right leg.  We got close enough to only about 10 yards away and stopped.  I then aimed and hit her in the left side.  She took off running again.  I was driving, so I handed the gun to my Beautiful Gal and we chased after her.  The pig stopped.  My Beautiful Gal shot and missed.  The pig took off running again and ran into the woods.  So the pig is wounded but still alive.  If I ever get another chance to shoot at her, this time I will aim for her head.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## rachels.haven

You almost got her!


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I plan on seeing just how much drop soon. I need to set up a shooting range and get better with the gun.


Another fun project! Hopefully you can finish the job soon. 

Almost sounds like you need the .22 for small varmints and something bigger for the larger varmints like that hog.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

We went to visit family in NE Texas Friday morning and returned Saturday evening.  All is well there.

This morning there is no sign of the pig having been around, so I suspect she went off into the woods and bled to death.  In case I have something like this happen in the future, I am considering buying a higher powered rifle.  Can anyone recommend where I can learn more about such rifles?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## CntryBoy777

Local game, fish, and wildlife office....hunter safety course...gun range....google....youtube....


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## farmerjan

A .243 doesn't have too bad a kick, I have shot one occasionally.  Also a 30-30.  I mostly just use my .22 but I don't try for long distances.  Mostly ground hogs, coons, possums and such. I would suggest finding a gun club and maybe doing some practice shooting.... most are SAFE places to do shooting.  Try a sportings good store or a local gun and firearms shop for info.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions.  Now onto the next topic.

This post is a review of the book _The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power _by Shoshana Zuboff.  This post is going to be a bit different in that I will first share an anecdote about what my wife and I did years ago that I think you need to know about in order to assess the influences of our past upon this review.  I apologize in advance in that it's going to be a bit long, so if you want to skip it or save it for later, I understand.

Personal Anecdote
Back in 1979, when both my wife and I were deeply involved in fundamentalist Protestant Christianity, we both read a book titled _How to Prosper in the Coming Bad Years_ by Howard Ruff, a fundamentalist Christian.  The book foretold of really bad economic times about to hit the United States and how to prepare for it.  Since my wife and I were both Post-Tribulation Premilennialists (see past my signature for an explanation of different Christian eschatologies), and we both believed that Jesus' return was imminent, we really took this book to heart.  One thing that the book predicted was when the prime interest rate hit 20%, that was the signal that the beginning of the end had started.  Later that year or sometime the next, the Fed Funds rate did hit 20%, as the Fed chairman Paul Volker (sp?) fought the inflation in the late 1970's and early 1980's.

While we didn't quit our jobs, we did start preparing for hard times, namely The Great Tribulation, so that when it finally started, we would be ready.  We stockpiled food, gold and silver, guns and ammunition, and other essential items, as much as we could afford on our salaries.  (I was 4 years out of college and my Beautiful Gal had just graduated nursing school, so money was tight then.)  Then we hunkered down and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Later, as I described before, I started having doubts about Christianity, eventually losing my faith.  I learned later that many such doom and gloom books, magazines, and newspapers have been published, many of them by sincere people, but many of them by crackpots and con artists.  I learned about urban legends and conspiracy theories and how they are spread, often by well meaning people.  For example, the books _The Encyclopedia of Urban Legends_ and _The Big Book of Hoaxes_ both went into detail on many different urban legends and hoaxes.  After having read all of that, I finally realized that not only had we been hoodwinked, but that a person has to be on their guard not to be hoodwinked.  I have been a skeptic of such claims ever since.

Review of the book
We decided to read the book _The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power _by Shoshana Zuboff after having watched the documentary _The Great Hack_ on Netflix, since Facebook was mentioned during the documentary as having been a large source of information for political groups to run disinformation campaigns against key voters in close elections.

The book goes into great detail about how, first Google, then Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, and later many other companies such as Verizon and AT&T started collecting data on individuals for the purposes of knowing what each person wanted, and then trying to meet that need.  Later, it transitioned into understanding how each individual thought, their values, likes (such as using the "Like" button) and dislikes, their political and religious attitudes, their health, their financial stability, etc.  For example, Google (and probably Apple) tracks the location of every Android phone while it is on, thus providing the patterns of life for the individual who owns that phone.  Google will sell this data to other companies, such as insurance companies, restaurants, clothing stores, etc.  The gathering of data has penetrated into the home, with Alexa and other such devices listening into conversations that go on in the home.  Thermostats, kitchen appliances, TVs, etc., are also able to listen in.  They provide this information to any and all companies that may be interested in it.  All of this goes on without your knowledge.

All of the above is rather creepy, but considering that the government could start collecting this data as well, then we have reached a society that has in place everything needed for total control by the government.  It is already occurring in China, where the use of social credits and demerits can cause individuals to succeed or fail, and these credits and demerits are not understood by the populace as to how one earns credits or demerits.

It was this last aspect of the book, the possible gathering of this data by the government for control of society, that troubled me the most.  While I have tried to minimize my digital trail in simple ways -- I use DuckDuckGo as my search engine, and Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird for my web and email -- I am sure that there are lots of other things I could do to minimize my digital trail more.

So this was a sobering book to read.  I am not sure how much to believe as to what the companies can and are doing with the data that they collect from me, but the idea that the government could easily start using that data was what I found most troubling.

If you decide to read the book, skip the first two chapters, as they are long and don't add much to the book.

Comments?

Senile Texas Aggie

Christian Eschatologies
These are the different Christian eschatologies that I know about, and there are plenty that I don't know about.

Christian eschatolgies can be divided into three main groups, called premillinnialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism.  The term millennialism comes from a passage in Revelation where there is a reign of 1000 years on earth of relative peace.  The pre-, post-, and a- refer to when Jesus' return is in relation to those 1000 years.  Premillennialists believe that Jesus' return will occur before the 1000 years.  (Many if not most Protestant denominations are of this position.)  Postmellinnials believe that Jesus' return would occur after the 1000 years.  (The Roman Catholic church was at one time of this position, though I don't know if it still is or not.)  Amillennialists believe there will not be a 1000 year reign on earth, that the mention of that is merely symbolic.  Instead, they believe that when God decides that it is time for the Great White Throne Judgment to occur, then Jesus will come back, with the saved going to heaven and the condemned sent to hell.  (The Campbellite Church of Christ was of this view at one time, and you can see it expressed in the song "When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder I'll Be There".)

For the Premillinnialists, there are basically three different flavors: pre-Tribulation, mid-Tribulation, and post-Tribulation.  The Great Tribulation refers to the time, usually 7 years in length, when the False Prophet is supposed to arise and lead humanity astray in rebellion against God.  The prefixes "pre-", "mid-", and "post-", refer to when the Rapture is supposed to take place.  Pre-Tribulation means that the Rapture will occur before the Great Tribulation starts.  (The "Left Behind" series presents this view.)  Mid-Tribulation means the church will go through the first half of the Great Tribulation and then will be raptured.  Post-Tribulation means that the church will go through the entire Great Tribulation and then the rapture will occur, but they will join Jesus here on earth for the 1000 year reign.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Edited to delete the text of this post.  Please read the next post for the reason I deleted the text in this one.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Someone on this forum kindly reached out to me to point out that I have been rude in asking very personal questions of different people, including the one who contacted me, on a public forum.  I want to apologize to all of you to whom I have asked those questions.  I sincerely have meant no harm.  I have asked the questions of each of you because I wanted to let you know that I care about you.  It is not that I wanted to be a gossip.  If I didn't care about you, I certainly wouldn't bother to ask.  Heck, I would bother to read your posts!

As I have mentioned before, I have Asperger's Syndrome.  One of the characteristics of the syndrome is that those who have it are often clueless in social situations.  I offer this by way of explanation, not excuse.  One would think that having lived almost 67 years on this earth I would have learned the basic social guidelines, but sometimes I miss learning even the most basic of these rules.  I ask your forgiveness.  I will try to not ask these kinds of questions again.

To the person who contacted me: thank you!  You have made clear to me my (inadvertent) rude behavior.  I will try not to make that kind of mistake again.



Senile Texas Aggie


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## B&B Happy goats

.......


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## frustratedearthmother

I've never read a post of yours and doubted that you sincerely care about folks that you don't even "know."   I don't think you would ever be deliberately rude to anyone.  But, I suppose it's not surprising that folks have different levels of privacy that they are comfortable with.  Just keep being your kind, caring self!


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## Mike CHS

I knew you have AS and if you ever ask me something that I didn't want the world to know, I just wouldn't answer so color me with @frustratedearthmother


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## AmberLops




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## CntryBoy777

Every single person out here has some issues or another....and I was unaware of your situation.........but I didn't mean anything with "ill feelings" or confrontational....just trying to "point it out" to you....if what I posted upset ya....I sure am sorry and didn't mean it in a harsh fashion....


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## farmerjan

I also don't think that you were rude.  Maybe a bit direct, but I tend to be that way also.  And if it is in part due to wondering about where people lived, I took it as being concerned as to the actual proximity of their place to the upcoming hurricane as far as distance, etc.  I also, have wondered "how close" this one or that was to a certain area or place.  I am glad that you were able to understand what the person said and not take it as a condemnation of you just wanting to know some information.  Everyone has their ways, as @CntryBoy777  said, and I know that I have been a little direct sometimes, and so has he, with his "different style" of writing.... and I like him.... so,  You're good with me.  Ask away in a PM if you want ...I can always refuse to answer or tell you to go jump off a cliff.....


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## Baymule

This is a family. And like a family, it is made up of many individuals. Some get along well with everybody, some get along with almost everybody and some get along with almost nobody. But we are a family, the tie that binds is the desire to have a life made better by the land on which we live, the animals we have or gardens or just associating with each other. Sometimes we squabble (guilty) but we get over it and move on. 

I have never known you to be anything but deeply caring about each and every one of us. The fact that you have AS just presents a facet of your personality. A diamond has many facets that make up the beauty of the whole diamond. You, sir, are a diamond.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone, for your kind words.  It means a lot to me.  I have never ever meant any hurtful things, and when I ask what someone would take as too personal, it is not because I am trying to be noisy, it is because I care about them.  For example, when you, Mr. @Mike CHS, posted recently on your journal about having gone through a dark time in your life similar to your neighbor, I thought "Well, if I had posted something like that on my journal, and no one had asked about it, I would have wondered if they either thought it too personal to ask, or worse, didn't give a damn."  Well, I certainly do give a damn, and considered my not asking as the greater of the two evils of asking or not.  But it seems that is wrong.  I hope you will forgive me, Mike.  I meant no harm, and it was because I care for you.

My problem so often arises when I try to apply the Golden Rule. Unfortunately, how I would like to be treated often is not how others would like to be treated.  For this I am truly sorry.  I mean no harm.

Thanks to all, again, for your comments and words of encouragement.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## AmberLops

Like I said on my journal...don't change for others. Stay true to who you are and if it bothers people, then it bothers them. But there's nothing worse than changing for other people, only to realize that it's still not what they wanted.
You have to be you...there's only one @Senile_Texas_Aggie


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## RollingAcres

Sorry was behind in reading posts on BYH. 
STA, I don't know what was posted and what not. But if something is asked of me and I think it's too personal or to protect my own privacy, I just wouldn't answer. I may politely reply and say "thanks but no thanks".


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## Mike CHS

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Thanks, everyone, for your kind words.  It means a lot to me.  I have never ever meant any hurtful things, and when I ask what someone would take as too personal, it is not because I am trying to be noisy, it is because I care about them.  For example, when you, Mr. @Mike CHS, posted recently on your journal about having gone through a dark time in your life similar to your neighbor, I thought "Well, if I had posted something like that on my journal, and no one had asked about it, I would have wondered if they either thought it too personal to ask, or worse, didn't give a damn."  Well, I certainly do give a damn, and considered my not asking as the greater of the two evils of asking or not.  But it seems that is wrong.  I hope you will forgive me, Mike.  I meant no harm, and it was because I care for you.
> 
> My problem so often arises when I try to apply the Golden Rule. Unfortunately, how I would like to be treated often is not how others would like to be treated.  For this I am truly sorry.  I mean no harm.
> 
> Thanks to all, again, for your comments and words of encouragement.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie



I do hope that you will quit beating yourself up for something that doesn't deserve it.  I'm not beating a dead horse but you have had a post or two in other threads that shows you are bothered by this and you shouldn't be.  I think most of us have said that if you ask something too personal, they would say so or just not answer and we all like having you around too much to have you continue to be bothered by it.

I'm posting the answer to your question to me in your thread so hopefully you will know there is no issue.  The post I made about me almost taking my life was not something I had given any thought about when I posted it.  In my case, it's a long story and not a dark period but it mostly involved a back injury that had me almost in a wheel chair and went on for over a year.  Many meds had me mostly unaware of my surroundings and fortunately for me, I had a lucid moment when my drug scrambled brain was trying to figure out a way to increase my reach so I could reach the trigger on the shotgun that I was trying to use.  That scared me enough that from that point on there was no more meds and I called my congressman that same day to get him involved to force the Navy to get off top dead center and get me into the hospital. Congressman Hutto evidently had some pull since I saw him on a Wednesday and I got a call from Naval Hospital Pensacola ordering me to check in on the following Monday morning by a spinal specialist.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thank you, Mr. @Mike CHS, for again reaching out to be and reassuring me that I did not offend you in my asking.

Thank you even more so for sharing your story.  I very much appreciate that.  It feels like you have become more human and relatable to me.  I am certainly thankful that you were able to come to your senses before you went through with your plan, even though I can understand why you would consider it.  You and I are both better off for your not going through with your plans.  Thank you, sir!

Senile Texas Aggie

Edited to delete some text that may have been taken as a dig at someone that I did not mean to take that way.  See, I'm trying to be nice!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Hi, all!

Well, I feel like a little boy who broke his favorite toy several days ago and finally his daddy fixed the toy again!  I am so happy now!  What toy am I talking about?  My tractor, what else!  A couple of weeks ago, I tried getting a 2" or so cedar stump up out of the ground with my grapple.  I didn't succeed in getting the stump up.  I only succeeded in damaging the internal seals of the curl pistons of the front end loader, so that they would not longer hold the grapple up in place.  They steadily leaked down.  And I have only myself to blame, as I had already watched a YouTube video at Messick's cautioning about how fragile FEL pistions are in their fully extended position (see 



 if you want to watch it for yourself).  So I had been pouting since my tractor has been gone since Thursday, but today I got it back home.  So like the little boy, I am happy!    Tomorrow, I have a LOT of mowing to do before my nieces and grandniece visit on their trip to Fayetteville (University of Arkansas), where my grandniece is considering attending college once she graduates from  high school next year.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## RollingAcres

Hope you enjoy your time with your family!


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## Baymule

I am glad that you got your tractor back. A tractor makes a LOT of difference when working on your land. As in, get something done or just look at it...….


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## Bruce

Glad your toy is fixed! I've dug good size rocks with my pallet forks. I guess for tree stumps, breaking out the side roots with the backhoe would be better. I've seen Mike Morgan use an excavator to do that, digging around all side of the stump then pushing the tree over.


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## AmberLops

Yay! Glad your tractor is fixed...now you can keep on workin'


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, my happiness was short-lived.  My daddy didn't fix my favorite toy right!  

I didn't notice it yesterday when I loaded and unloaded the tractor, but this morning I noticed it when after hooking up the shredder, and then went to hook up my grapple.  Hydraulic fluid was dripping out the left curl function cylinder!  When I took it in, it was for an internal leak, and now it has an external leak!  At the time I hooked up the tractor, I really needed to mow along the driveway and near the gate and around some trees next to the driveway.  The hydraulic fluid was dripping at about a drop a second.  But by the time I got finished, it was dripping a good bit faster.  So I decided not to mow any more, as much as I wanted and need to.  So I will be taking the tractor back to the dealer on Monday and hope that they can get it fixed quickly.



Bruce said:


> I guess for tree stumps, breaking out the side roots with the backhoe would be better. I've seen Mike Morgan use an excavator to do that, digging around all side of the stump then pushing the tree over.



I definitely would use the backhoe -- if I had one!  I have priced them in the past, so the cost of the backhoe itself, along with all of the additional hydraulics that would be needed, made me think there were implements I could buy that I would use more often.  But with me trying to reclaim the burned over and now overgrown land, maybe I would use it often.  I'll have to think about it.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## RollingAcres

Oh no!


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Oh no.... talk about a let down!  So sorry it turned out that way and hope they get it fixed FAST this time!


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## AmberLops

That's too bad!


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## Bruce

frustratedearthmother said:


> Oh no.... talk about a let down!  So sorry it turned out that way and hope they get it fixed FAST this time!


And at no cost


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> And at no cost



We'll see.  The service department manager, Tim, suggested that perhaps the piston shaft may be damaged in some fashion.  I am not sure why I did not see the external leak after I damaged it while trying to pull up the cedar stump, nor why they didn't see the leak after repairing it, but maybe that happens sometimes.  I trust Tim as being an honest fellow, but he will be on vacation next week, so I wonder just what all they are going to find that will need repair or replacement.  I guess I will find out next week.  Meanwhile, I will continue my little boy whimpering/bawling while my favorite toy is getting fixed... 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, our nieces and grandnieces were unable to come visit us, as the father/step father was sick and unable to care the 2 year old and 3 month old while the mother and her daughter and the mother's sister went to Fayetteville for a campus visit.  We found out they weren't coming after buying groceries for them, expecting to cook a large breakfast for them.  So my Beautiful Gal and I had a wonderful breakfast by ourselves, with scrambled eggs, pan fried potatoes, country biscuits, and some sausage/flour milk gravy to ladle over them all.  Sure was good eatin'!

Well, I'm sure the folks on this forum will be as glad for me to get my tractor back as I will be.  The reason?  So I will be doing something interesting out in the pastures and along the woods, instead of posting boring book reviews like the one I am about to do.  But with my tractor busted and it supposedly getting to 98º F today, with little to no wind or cloud cover, I am currently sitting on my rear end in the air conditioning!  I have a feeling the only persons to read this post _might_ be Miss @AmberLops or Miss @farmerjan, mostly out of compassion!   Now on to the boring book reviews.

_Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)_ by Jerome K. Jerome

This is one of the few books of fiction we have read recently.  It is a book of humor about 3 men who decide to take a trip in a row boat up the Thames river from London to Oxford.  My Beautiful Gal first heard or read about it somewhere and suggested we consider reading it.  We were a bit surprised that it was originally published in 1886!  The humor is at the level of bringing a smile and a chuckle but not crazy funny.  But it was a nice diversion for us.

_Unthinkable - An Extraordinary Journey Through the World's Strangest Brains_ by Helen Thomson

I love reading books on science, but especially on psychology, neurology, neurobiology, etc.  I think that is why I enjoyed the writings of Dr. Oliver Sacks so much.  We formerly subscribed for many years to a magazine called _Scientific American Mind_ which I loved reading.  It broke my heart when they decided to go to digital format only, as I don't particularly like reading in-depth journalism online.  I like to be able to read at my leisure, pick up where I left off (such as when I am using the restroom), underline and mark on it, etc., and then save the copies for later reference.  But whenever we find an interesting sounding book on one of our favorite topics, we will try to read it.

In the book, the author discusses 9 different people who have quite strange mental characteristics.  (I guess the author had not heard of me or there might have been 10!)  The people and their strange mental characteristics were (1) Bob, who could remember just about every day of his life all the way back to very early childhood, (2) Sharon, who was permanently lost, (3) Ruben, who could see color auras around people, words, numbers, etc. (synesthesia), (4) Tommy, who had switched personalities from when he was young to becoming a older adult, (5) Sylvia, who suffered a continuous hallucination, (6) Matar, who imagined himself turning into a tiger, (7) Louise, who became unreal, like she was a disembodied spirit and the world wasn't real, (8) Graham, who for several months thought he was dead, and (9) Joel, who had such a strong empathic element that he could literally feel the physical pain that others were feeling.  It made for fascinating reading.

_Gender and Our Brains - How Neuroscience Explodes the Myths of the Male and Female Minds_ by Gina Rippon
We had not expected to read back-to-back 2 books on neuroscience, but this book is one we preordered from Amazon back in May, so that we would receive it when finally published it.  We forgot we had preordered this by the time we read the previous book, and then received it just as we finished the previous book.

This book challenged so many ideas we (especially I) had regarding the effect that biology (genetics, in utero development, etc.) had on the brain and whether it exhibited male or female characteristics.  The book argued that many of the ideas we consider as biologically fixed between men and women (nature) are really learned through our surroundings (nurture).  While she was not saying there are NO differences between men's brains and women's brains as determined by biology, she was saying that the differences present that are attributable to biology is small in number.  This certainly flies in the face of my previous ideas, and I do wonder whether my previous ideas were correct or not, or maybe she is wrong about some things.  (I am reminded of an observation by Mark Twain regarding scientists: "Scientists are an ornery lot, until you prop up their theory, then you can borrow money of them.")  For example, I _think _I recall reading in studies of twins separated at birth and reared apart, that on average, identical twins shared about half the same characteristics, with some examples:

if one twin was homosexual, the chances of the other twin being homosexual was around 30%, well above chance (around 1.5%) but certainly below 100%, showing that sexual orientation is not strictly an individual choice or determined by environment.

bipolar disorder is around 70% determined by genetics or in utero conditions.
religiosity is around 90% controlled by genetic or in utero conditions.  The individual religious beliefs are, of course, determined by environment, but the intensity of those beliefs are 90% biologically determined.
But she did make a good case for explaining the differences between men and women that are often cited as proving it is biologically determined is the wrong explanation which ignores confounding factors or other causes that were not tested.  Examples include:

women are naturally bad at math, reading maps, etc.
women are naturally good at empathy, while men are terrible at it
She does a really good job of showing that these are learned behaviors, not innate behaviors or limitations.

All in all, I am glad we read this book.  If a person only reads or listens to things that already confirms their world view, then they are not learning anything.  Instead, it is good to sometimes read things that challenge these ideas.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Unthinkable for sure! I don't imagine I would want to be any of those people for even a day. Imagine a life lived that way.


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## AmberLops

Very interesting! I will have to add these to my reading collection. I'm especially interested in 'Unthinkable'...sounds like a very neat book 
I've read a few books like that, but they were focused on animals.


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## Bruce

And we SURELY wouldn't want to hear about animals on THIS forum


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## AmberLops

Bruce said:


> And we SURELY wouldn't want to hear about animals on THIS forum


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## Baymule

One of the funniest books I ever read was The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald, published in 1945. I still have that book and every few years, I will read it again and I still howl with laughter. In fact, this book was the source for the Ma and Pa Kettle movies and cartoons. 

https://www.amazon.com/Egg-I-Betty-...ocphy=9027008&hvtargid=pla-487508577800&psc=1


----------



## AmberLops

Baymule said:


> One of the funniest books I ever read was The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald, published in 1945. I still have that book and every few years, I will read it again and I still howl with laughter. In fact, this book was the source for the Ma and Pa Kettle movies and cartoons.
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Egg-I-Betty-...ocphy=9027008&hvtargid=pla-487508577800&psc=1


I LOVE that book!!


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## Baymule

there you go, 2 positive reviews. STA you need to read this book!


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## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Well, our nieces and grandnieces were unable to come visit us, as the father/step father was sick and unable to care the 2 year old and 3 month old while the mother and her daughter and the mother's sister went to Fayetteville for a campus visit. We found out they weren't coming after buying groceries for them, expecting to cook a large breakfast for them. So my Beautiful Gal and I had a wonderful breakfast by ourselves, with scrambled eggs, pan fried potatoes, country biscuits, and some sausage/flour milk gravy to ladle over them all. Sure was good eatin'!


What a bummer!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Baymule said:


> One of the funniest books I ever read was The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald



I just downloaded a sample, which we will read after we finish our current selection.  Thanks for the recommendation!



Bruce said:


> Unthinkable for sure! I don't imagine I would want to be any of those people for even a day. Imagine a life lived that way.



Gosh, Mr. @Bruce!  Besides Miss @AmberLops, I guess you and Miss @Baymule have taken pity on me as well. 

Yesterday my Beautiful Gal and I saw something neither of had ever seen before: we saw something in the pond from the porch but could not make out what it was.  I feared the pig had returned and was wading in the pond.  But it turned out to be a doe!  She stayed there for 20 minutes or so before she got out, then a couple of hours later got back in the pond and stayed another 20 minutes or so before getting back out.  I have often seen cows wade in a pond to cool off but never a deer.  Has any of you ever seen that?

Well, I took my tractor back to Alma to get the curl function hydraulics fixed.  I hope I get it back soon.  I miss my favorite toy! 

Also yesterday, my Beautiful Gal had one of the rare occasions where she was able to penetrate my thick Texas Aggie skull and impress on me the need for a landscape rake for the tractor.  She realized how useful they could be after I mentioned it and we watched videos on YouTube of Outdoors with the Morgans, Hamiltonville Farm, and Stoney Ridge Farmer.  Can any of you recommend a good brand and/or model or equally important a brand and/or model to avoid?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

I've never seen a deer go for a good cooling soak in a pond. What a unique sight that you got to see!


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## RollingAcres

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Has any of you ever seen that?


I've never seen that.


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## AmberLops

Wow! I've never seen that either 
I guess they lke to cool off too, right?
I did see 2 strange-looking deer today...maybe they were mule deer? Definitely not white-tails!


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## AmberLops

Not to change the subject but have you read The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls?
It's an amazing book!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

AmberLops said:


> Not to change the subject but have you read The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls?
> It's an amazing book!



Not that I recall.  I'll have to look it up and maybe download a sample.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Can any of you recommend a good brand and/or model or equally important a brand and/or model to avoid?



I didn't get any feedback on my question regarding landscape rakes, so I will explicitly ask the folks I know have tractors but don't remember if you have landscape rakes.  Miss @Baymule, Mr. @Bruce, and Mr. @Mike CHS, can any of you recommend a good brand or model or not recommend a bad brand or model?

I have been intending on taking a picture of the most dangerous animal we have here on our home stead.  I was able to get a very close picture without this animal knowing I was there.  Here is the dangerous animal:

 

On a more serious note, our red bud tree appears to be dying.  I trimmed off a dead limb last week, thinking that maybe I needed to prune that limb.  At the time, everything else on the tree looked fine.  But today while mowing, I noticed a big portion of the tree looks dead.  Any ideas what might be wrong?
 

Finally, the grass in the pastures is being raked and baled today.  I'll try to get some pictures.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

I know nothing about landscape rakes,  much less what brand to get or stay away from. 

that is a terrible dangerous animal there, it's a wonder it didn't wake up and hurt you!


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## Mike CHS

I saw your post earlier but missed the question about landscape rakes.  I have the one that TSC carries, County Line?  It does a really good job depending on what you are doing.  It is super at moving gravel on the driveway.  I have used it a bunch for moving tree trimmings but I do most of that in reverse on the tractor.  If you pull many  branches it gets balled up and the rake will skip over the pile or even get hung up if you do too much.  By doing it in reverse, you just pivot the rack and the pile works in your favor and if it gets too much you just go forward and push some more.


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## Bruce

I just went with the Mahindra 6' rake when I bought the tractor, don't know who actually makes it but I do know that some of the "implements" are made by a USA company including the backhoe and loader. I didn't buy the gauge wheels because IIRC they wanted a fair bit of money for them and I didn't know if I would need them. Not sure if that is a problem for the future if I want to level stuff out. I see that Everything Attachments has an interesting rake that has 2 angle adjustments, one up front to swing the rake to the side of the tractor and one at the rake to angle that separately. 

Can't tell you how well the rake works because I haven't used it yet! I did get and install the quick hitch bushings though. Hopefully I can find time to smooth things out behind the barn, the alpacas' poop pile moves as they use the "active" edge. Plus I need to get some stone for the driveway and 2 "lanes" to the barn. I had to put the EV charging station in the drive bay since I had no open slots in the service panel in the house. The station won't be real useful if I can't get the car back uphill to the parking area. And the tractor made quite an impression just outside its door, need to fill that in with stone.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, all, for your inputs on the landscape rake.  I am torn between going the expensive route and buy the Everything Attachments rake, which is $1145 for a 6 ft rake + $366 for the gauge wheels, or go with something for about half that much, such as the Titan Attachments sold by Amazon, which is $723 including the gauge wheels.  I watched Hamiltonville Farm use the Everything Attachments and Stony Ridge Farmer use the Titan attachments and both seemed to do well.  I'll figure something out.  Thanks again for your inputs.

As I have mentioned before, I am like a little boy whose favorite toy is broken, namely my tractor.  This morning I decided quit pouting and sucking on my thumb and instead to work out in the pasture, despite it being hot.  I know a number of you have worked outdoors even when it was hot, such as Miss @B&B Happy goats, when the temperature was at or near 100º F th) with almost that high humidity, having to take care of her goats, her chickens, and her rabbits, and I seemed to remember some painting going on!  And I know Miss @Baymule and her DH haven't been sitting on their behinds, but have been out working, as well as @Mike CHS and Miss Teresa, as well as numerous others unnamed.  So I decided it was time to stop being a wimp and get busy.  Once I decided to go, then my Beautiful Gal decided to go as well.  So we chose to work on what she wanted to work on, which was in the creek near the culvert, and later along the edge of the woods.  I am going to need some advice on what to do about the creek and the culvert as there is some erosion happening there, but dummy me forgot to get pictures, so I will take those and post, then seek advice.

Once we finished at the creek, we went to near the gate and worked along the edge of the woods.  My Beautiful Gal grabbed her favorite tool, the pole saw, along with the hedge trimmers, and went to work trimming limbs and cutting down small trees.  I decided to do battle with Miss @Baymule's favorite nemesis, green briars.  There was quite a large patch of those briars that had grown up in among some trees, and made that part look overgrown and really ugly.  I decided to pull them all down.  Using no tools other than my two gloved hands, I managed to pull them all down.  I got into several arguments with the briars, and I eventually won all of them, but those briars made some sharp points in their arguing!

Well, that's all for now.  Still looking for input on what I can do to save the red bud tree.  I'd hate for it to die.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## RollingAcres

Sorry I can't help with the tree issue. 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I got into several arguments with the briars, and I eventually won all of them


Glad you "won" and was able to kinda take your frustration out(because of your broken toy) on the green briars.


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## Bruce

Do you need the Severe Xtreme Duty rake? The Extreme Duty one is $932, $200 cheaper. And it is the one that pivots at 2 points, the more expensive one does not. Might be useful for raking junk out from under trees.

I think the Titan looks similar to my rake though from the pictures it isn't clear if it rotates all the way around for use as Mike described or just with the tines facing forward.

Can you just cut the greenbriars at ground level and let them die in the trees instead of pulling them down?


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## Mike CHS

I only use mine for raking gravel on the driveway and occasionally raking dirt but I usually use my front end loader for the dirt since I can control adjusting for contour with the FEL (in reverse of course). I do use it for tree branches in reverse of course as said before. The rake has done everything I needed and it does pivot for right\left angles as well as fore and aft.


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## Baymule

The redbud tree.....cut off the dead parts and see what'cha got. If it is rotting down the center of the trunk, it's Bye Bye Redbud-eventually. I have a Redbud tree that Red Wattle hogs straddled, walked it down so they could eat the leaves. It looked sorta sad for awhile, but is determined to live. Maybe yours will kick in and get busy living.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Regarding the landscape rake, the Titan does rotate 360º.  I ordered the 6' w/ the training wheels from Amazon.  It is supposed to arrive some time later this month.

Regarding the red bud, we can certainly cut off the dead limbs.  I just fear that eventually there won't be any limbs left!

Well, I got my favorite toy, namely my tractor, back from the shop today.  Man I am so glad to get it back!  There was no additional charge for the repair, so that's good.  Now I can get busy out in the pastures again cutting grass and other fun stuff!

That's all from western Arkansas!  All of you have a wonderful rest of the day and a restful night! 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> There was no additional charge for the repair, so that's good.


 Glad to hear your repair place has morals.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I tried posting this yesterday but the internet was so slow that the picture uploads would time out, so I will try again this morning.

The folks who work for the man who leased out pasture came and mowed, raked, and baled earlier this week.  The baler just finished "laying an egg".

 

Yesterday I had a dump truck load of sand delivered to use in filling in all of the holes the pig left.  Here is a picture of the sand pile:
 

Here is a picture of the south end of the back porch where the pig dug:
 

The leach field for the septic tank:
 

The south end of the front porch:
 

The north end of the front porch:
 

Speaking of the pig, we saw her early yesterday morning, hobbling across the pasture!  We had not seen her for 2 weeks, ever since I shot her in the right rear and the left side.  I thought that she had gone into the woods and bled to death.  But nope, there she was!  We went out after breakfast to try to find her, but she ran into the woods before we got close enough to shoot her.

My Beautiful Gal's sister Treasa and her husband James are visiting for a few days so I might not be on the forum for a while.  I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

That is a beautiful field. I love seeing rolls of hay dotting fields. The pig did some damage, that's what they do. I used to raise pigs in one of my front pastures, but I was trying to establish grass in it. I filled in the holes and built a dedicated pig pen. 

Enjoy your family!


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Yesterday I had a dump truck load of sand delivered to use in filling in all of the holes the pig left.


Why did you choose sand instead of topsoil since you are repairing grass?

I'm thinking I need a couple of bunkers. 1 with sand and one I can mix that with the clay/sludge I pulled from the pond. Not sure that stuff would be a great choice for leveling out or covering rock tips.

Have fun with your in-laws!!


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## AmberLops

@Senile_Texas_Aggie  you've been so quiet! Hope all is well


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## Baymule

Oh, he is here, busy stalking...…...BWA-HA-HA-HA!!!!


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## Mike CHS

@Senile_Texas_Aggie - I was trying to find the posts that you had with Greybeard about what to put on tree trunks that you cut down but haven't found them.  Most of those I'm cutting down are small but they are going to grow out if I don't do something.


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## AmberLops

Baymule said:


> Oh, he is here, busy stalking...…...BWA-HA-HA-HA!!!!


Ha  ha!


----------



## Bruce

Mike CHS said:


> @Senile_Texas_Aggie - I was trying to find the posts that you had with Greybeard about what to put on tree trunks that you cut down but haven't found them.  Most of those I'm cutting down are small but they are going to grow out if I don't do something.


Don't recall that one specifically but I was told that the best way to kill those off is the high test glyphosate poured right on the cut off trunk. I would guess that since it isn't being sprayed, it would be pretty well contained to just that stump and not contaminate other areas.


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## Mike CHS

I'll try that Bruce, thanks.  That area is sprayed anyway so there's nothing that will be hurt by the spray.


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## Bruce

Remember it has to be high test, not the stuff you get in a spray bottle. I don't know the concentration levels. Also don't know how soon you have to apply it after you cut the tree.


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## Mike CHS

I'm seeing a "concentrate" on line that is 50%,  What I have on hand is 41%


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## Bruce

I see the Roundup Lawn and Garden is 18%, the "ready to use" is only 2% so I would guess the 41% would be adequate


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

AmberLops said:


> @Senile_Texas_Aggie you've been so quiet! Hope all is well



Miss @AmberLops,

As Miss @Baymule said, I have been stalking, but not posting. A number of things has kept me occupied -- (1) we have my Beautiful Gal's next older sister, Treasa, and her husband, James, visiting in their RV last week and this week, and we had to make a trip to NE Texas Sat & Sun to attend a cousin's funeral.  We will be driving to McKinney, TX, for a doctor's appointment tomorrow and expect to return tomorrow night.  I will try to catch up with my posts by the end of the week.



Mike CHS said:


> I was trying to find the posts that you had with Greybeard about what to put on tree trunks



@Mike CHS, I remember the discussions with Mr. @greybeard but don't remember if it was on my thread or someone else's.  Greybeard told me to use Remedy.  What I normally do is mix glyphosate with Remedy in solution.  To kill trees while they are standing, make several cuts around the trunk and spray the cuts well with the Remedy.  To kill tree stumps after having cut the tree down, cut around the stump, opening up the bark to expose the living portion of the tree (I forget what that is called), then spray into those cuts.  Hope this helps.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Well, Treasa and her DH James left yesterday afternoon, so I have finally caught up with the journals I have been following.  They were here for 2 weeks and may return in 2 more weeks and stay another 2 weeks.  They are in the process of buying a house, and if nothing goes wrong, then they should close on the house by the end of October.

During the time that they were here, James and I cut up the big oak tree that had blown over a couple of months ago.  I showed James how to use the grapple, so he did that while I did the sawing.  I think I have now lost the job of driving the tractor whenever he comes to visit, as he LOVED doing that!  The next day, while they were gone to Texarkana to meet with a home inspector and roofing guy, I hauled all of the cutup parts of the tree to the burn pile west of our shop.  

We also assembled a landscape rake made by Titan Attachments that came from Amazon.  The instructions were really bad, as in almost nonexistent.  There were two small hollow tubes that I thought were shims that needed to be driven into the hole in the rake housing where the retainer bolt would hold the rake at different pivot points.  The "shims" were slightly larger than the hole.  I almost started to get out the big hammer and start driving in the "shims", but then I decided to see if there were any assembly instruction videos on YouTube.  Fortunately there were.  When I watched one of the videos, it showed that the so-called "shims" were really spacers that went into the top part of the 3 point hitch!  Boy, I am so glad I watched that video!

After we got the rake put together, I tried it out in the area south of the shop, where there once were a lot of trees and now are a lot of fallen limbs, etc.  It worked pretty well, except that sometimes limbs would get caught between the tines, so we had to remove those periodically.  I then used the rake on the sand that I put out where the pig had dug up the yard.  It helped to spread the sand pretty well.  All in all I like the rake and I am glad I bought it.

A couple of days ago, Treasa said that she wanted to tour the farm again.  I suggested she drive the Gator, so she did.  My Beautiful Gal rode up front with her while James and I sat in the back.  She had a blast driving it!  We had taken them on a tour earlier this year when they visited and did not enjoy it nearly as much, but this time it was a lot of fun for her.  She discovered that it could go in places that she didn't think it could.  So the next time they visit, James will be driving the tractor and Treasa will be driving the Gator!

Speaking of the pig, I thought that perhaps she had finally died, as we had not seen her in quite some time.  But during the Gator ride, we saw where she had a wallow at our south pond, and then later actually saw the pig.  We had left the 22 rifle at the house, so I could not shoot at it, but unless I hit the pig in the head, I don't think the 22 rifle has enough power to kill her.  I feel like Wile E Coyote trying to catch the Road Runner, or maybe Snoopy trying to get the Red Baron!  But I am determined to get rid of that pig once and for all!

Well, that's all the news here.  I hope everyone has a wonderful evening and weekend!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I think I have now lost the job of driving the tractor whenever he comes to visit, as he LOVED doing that!


Will he have use for a tractor at the new house? If not, now he's got the bug, he might change his mind on that house


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

He only has a 1/2 acre lot, so no need for a tractor, other than some grade work needs to be done to improve drainage.  I suspect he will instead visit more often, so he can drive the tractor and Treasa can drive the Gator!


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## farmerjan

Not to be nosy, but weren't they going to travel for a year or 2 RVing??? Maybe I have someone else confused. Are they moving closer to you?  That would be nice for visiting back and forth with family as it seems you all get on real well.


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## Baymule

Sounds like everyone had a great time.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

farmerjan said:


> Not to be nosy, but weren't they going to travel for a year or 2 RVing??? Maybe I have someone else confused. Are they moving closer to you? That would be nice for visiting back and forth with family as it seems you all get on real well.



Miss @farmerjan,

You are not being nosy at all.  It indicates to me that you care.  I like that.

They (as in James) wanted to travel a year or 2 and then settle down.  But Treasa disliked it from the start.  They managed to tour the southeastern US -- Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Tennessee, and then came back to visit with us and with their families in the Texarkana area.  When in July they decided to go visit James' cousin somewhere in California, Treasa so much did not want to travel in the RV, so they drove their car out there for 2 weeks and then came back to visit with us.  After visiting with us, they went back to the Texarkana area to start looking for another house.  Treasa missed her kids and grand kids, did not like touring and seeing the countryside, and so James gave in and decided to move back to the Texarkana area.  Technically, they will reside closer to us by about 3 blocks from their previous house -- still ~140 miles away.

I suspect they will visit often until Treasa goes back to work.  Although she retired from her job, I think she misses the income, as she likes to financially help her kids and grand kids.  Once she goes back to work, then I doubt they will visit often.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## misfitmorgan

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> All,
> 
> Someone on this forum kindly reached out to me to point out that I have been rude in asking very personal questions of different people, including the one who contacted me, on a public forum.  I want to apologize to all of you to whom I have asked those questions.  I sincerely have meant no harm.  I have asked the questions of each of you because I wanted to let you know that I care about you.  It is not that I wanted to be a gossip.  If I didn't care about you, I certainly wouldn't bother to ask.  Heck, I would bother to read your posts!
> 
> As I have mentioned before, I have Asperger's Syndrome.  One of the characteristics of the syndrome is that those who have it are often clueless in social situations.  I offer this by way of explanation, not excuse.  One would think that having lived almost 67 years on this earth I would have learned the basic social guidelines, but sometimes I miss learning even the most basic of these rules.  I ask your forgiveness.  I will try to not ask these kinds of questions again.
> 
> To the person who contacted me: thank you!  You have made clear to me my (inadvertent) rude behavior.  I will try not to make that kind of mistake again.
> 
> 
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie



Feel free to ask me anything you would like to know, i am happy to answer anything anyone is curious on. We have a few different friends with children with downs and autism while not the same as Asperger's we have learned over the years that they obviously don't mean to be rude when they ask certain questions and just don't realize most people would find them rude or intrusive. In short you've never offended me with anything you have ever asked me so feel free to ask me whatever you like.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

misfitmorgan said:


> Feel free to ask me anything you would like to know, i am happy to answer anything anyone is curious on. We have a few different friends with children with downs and autism while not the same as Asperger's we have learned over the years that they obviously don't mean to be rude when they ask certain questions and just don't realize most people would find them rude or intrusive. In short you've never offended me with anything you have ever asked me so feel free to ask me whatever you like.



Thank you, Miss @misfitmorgan!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I have a lot of things to post, but because I have a dental appointment at 2PM, then I will make separate posts.

The first thing is I would like to hear from the tractor owners on this forum - @Bruce, Miss @Baymule, Miss @farmerjan, @Mike CHS, @MtViking, and maybe others.  I have 2 things to ask.  First, how many of you have a 3-pt quick hitch?  What brand do you have?  Would you recommend that brand or some other brand?  I have a category 2 tractor, but all of my implements are category 1, so I am thinking of getting a category 1 3-pt quick hitch.

Second, how many of you have a hydraulic top link for your 3-pt hitch?  I am considering getting one for my tractor as my mower/shredder requires the top link to be at one length while the landscape rake requires it to be at a different length.  And I have found that after using the landscape rake for awhile that being able to shorten the top link at times would be quite handy.

Comments?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Mike CHS

I have the Pat's and can't compare to others since that is all I have used. I don't have rear hydraulics but I have two top links that fits all of my needs.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Well, I am back from the dentist.  The dentist purchased a new X-ray machine, where they no longer need to use film and develop it.  The bad news is that it still is not powerful enough to locate the 2 neurons in my brain, so they may need to get an even more powerful one! 

More on the pig.  I saw her late one evening at dusk, and so I sneaked down to the pond.  This time I steadied myself again a tree, aimed for her head, and fired.  She ran off.  The next morning, just at sunrise, I went down to the pond to see if she was there.  I didn't see her, but as I walked around the pond I saw a piece of wood floating in the middle.  I decided to shoot at the wood just to see where the bullet was going in relation to my aim.  It turned out to be shooting high.  Later that evening I decided to go back down to the pond, as we saw a couple of deer at the corn pile we had down there, as well as something we could not make out.  I decided that instead of shooting across the pond that I would instead try to sneak up on her near her wallow.  Just as I got to near that spot where I could see the wallow, she wasn't there.  But then I looked to my left and there she was, walking toward the pond, no more than 10 yards away.  She had not seen me.  I aimed at the lower part of her head, thinking that if it is shooting high, then it will hit in the middle or at worst the top of her head.  I fired.  The pig acted as if I had missed and ran off.  I fired 4 more times and she still kept going.  So either I am an INCREDIBLY BAD shot and/or the 22 is not powerful enough to penetrate her head.  So now I am considering getting a more powerful rifle or a 12 gauge shotgun.  I want to learn a lot about guns before I decide which one to get.  Where do you folks recommend I learn about them?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## farmerjan

Find a shooting range near you.  A sportings good/gun shop should be able to help you find one.  Aren't you right near the Arkansas fish and game dept?  Go talk to them. 
Honestly. I think you need to go to a range, or set up a target practice area and figure out where you are actually shooting.  A gun range would be much more accurate.  I honestly think you are not hitting where you  think you are and by "correcting your target area" are actually putting yourself off worse.  At 10 yards a .22 would easily be able to kill her if she were hit in the right spot.  She probably wouldn't drop right there, but that is only 30 feet away.  I really think that getting yourself set up at a range, maybe with someone there who can see what you are doing when you shoot, and getting the gun sighted in is what you need.  
I thought some of us had suggested where to go to learn about different types of rifles.  Maybe it was another forum I was on. I think a .243 is a good all around gun , but again, you would want to go somewhere that you could try one out and that means a gun club/shooting range of some sort.


----------



## Bruce

I have the cheap Harbor Freight Quick Hitch. It is a Cat II hitch (most are) so you have to buy Cat II to Cat I bushings to put on the implements. It has a number of holes in the top hook in case your implement is close but not close enough to the Cat I & II vertical distance between the top pin and the lower side pins.
It is SUPPOSED to be about 15". I had to buy an extended hook from Amazon for another $45 or it wouldn't even mate to my landscape rake (which I have yet to use). By "extended" it means the part of the hook with the holes is wider (when viewed from the side) so the hook sticks out back of the QH a bit. Not sure which QH's have that hook standard but I've basically paid $150 for a $100 QH. And then there is the flail. It is SUPPOSED to be Cat I compatible but the vertical distance was 19" - Cat III. They don't even make a Cat III flail so I have no idea who "engineered" that FUBAR. The "fix" was a well made and well designed pair of "drop down" adapters that fit into the top hole of the flail's "arch" inside the "cheeks" of the "arch". The distance is perfect for Cat I and I got it on the QH. BUT those adapters narrow the space where the QH hook fits in and when I tried to release the flail from the QH, the QH gets trapped and won't drop.

I know this is not at all confusing but I'll put in some pictures anyway.

Extended top hook. The basic difference is that little jog to the right, it pushes the hook out a short distance. The standard hook is straight down with the holes closer to the inside of the hook. Why the HF QH doesn't come with this I do not know, there plenty of posts on TractorByNet from people having the same issue I did. The non extended hook is standard on other QHs as well.






Measurement showing the 19" vertical difference.
 

And where the QH hook was in relation to the top pin, barely any contact and it is on the angled edge of the QH hook.
 

Here are the adapters installed on the flail's arch as seen from the lower back.
 

These are the adapters they made loosely installed. You can see the flanges of the QH (bottom of pic) and how there is no longer any horizontal space for them to slide into the the top between the adapters. I didn't realize they needed to.
 

So I needed to buy yet ANOTHER adapter which I have not yet used because I haven't taken the flail off. Hopefully this will fix my issues.





Now here is a picture of the QH Standard measurements. You will need to check all of your implements and see if they adhere to these. If they do you can use a QH, if not they need to be modified or put on without the QH. Here is where the Pat's comes in handy since it doesn't have a top link attachment and the lower links can be moved in and out to accommodate different widths between the lower pins. It makes it easier to attach implements but isn't a "back in and lift" solution since you still need to attach the top link.


----------



## Bruce

I do not have a hydraulic top link. It would be nice as would a hydraulic top and tilt but they require rear remotes and I have only the ones for the backhoe. I would also need a set of valves to control the T&T and that gets into serious money (not that the T&T is at all cheap even if you have the remotes and valves).


----------



## MtViking

I have a three point quick connect on mine but not a hydraulic top link. The three point is easy for me to attach my mower/back blade/ or rake. This is my first tractor so I don’t have a lot of knowledge to share. Its a ‘64 farmall 560. It’s actually originally a propane converted to gas. Runs good and gets everything I need done. I actually wish it was a little bit smaller the beast is tough to get into the wooded areas behind the house where I could really use some dirt work. As far as guns go. It to each there own really. I’ve had lots of calibers and have shot or shoot lots of calibers. My favorite is an old sporterized ww2 German 30-06. But I also really enjoy my kids 243 it shoots super straight and doesn’t drop as fast as my 06 on the long shots. My nephew has a 7mm that’s a beautiful rifle with incredible accuracy. 270 is also a great option and I love the old 3030 lever actions. Look at ammo prices in your area that’s always helped me in the past. I want to be able to afford to shoot what ever it is I buy.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks to all for your inputs on quick hitches, hydraulic top links, and guns.  I will do the research you recommended and let you know what I find out.


----------



## farmerjan

As far as I can figure, we also don't have any hydraulic top links on any of our tractors either.  But honestly, I do very little hooking or unhooking of the equipment because most all of it is way too big and heavy for me to do.  I do hook and unhook the rakes, but the side delivery rake is ground driven, and it hooks to the drawbar and then you crank the "roller bars" up and down to get it set where you want.  The big wheel rake has hydraulic hoses that run from the hydraulic cylinders on the rake,  raise and lower the wheels, and the width of the rake in and out.  The discbine and mower I can barely lift the pto shaft hookup to the tractor, they hook to the drawbar and then the machine is operated by hydraulic hose hookups.  So I am not much help with that either.


----------



## Bruce

Jan, that is because you are a REAL farmer using REAL farm tractors and attachments and farming BIG acreage. I couldn't move my 5 foot 500# flail to put it on the 3 PT if my life depended on it. I do know from TractorByNet that some people have nice concrete floor equipment sheds and put their heavy implements on dollies with casters so they are fairly easy to move around and attach. Such a thing doesn't exist here, I don't even have a piece of level ground to set things on.


----------



## MtViking

Bruce said:


> Jan, that is because you are a REAL farmer using REAL farm tractors and attachments and farming BIG acreage. I couldn't move my 5 foot 500# flail to put it on the 3 PT if my life depended on it. I do know from TractorByNet that some people have nice concrete floor equipment sheds and put their heavy implements on dollies with casters so they are fairly easy to move around and attach. Such a thing doesn't exist here, I don't even have a piece of level ground to set things on.


I’m with you lol. I have a couple logs I set the rake or back blade on so it’s closer to the height I need it to attach. The mower isn’t too bad I hook up the top link lift it up a little and back it into the side of the hill and let’s the quick connect line up.


----------



## MtViking

@Senile_Texas_Aggie  I’ve never hunted a pig so this might be a dumb question. But why are you going for just a head shot? Just curious. I usually go for right behind the shoulder which hits the lungs and/or heart. Sometimes they run and bit but not far. Or I shoot the neck on deer if I’m using my higher caliber rifles. I wouldn’t shoot for the neck with a small caliber. A neck on a pig isn’t really something to aim for lol. But a heart/lung shot seems like a possible option. They’re rumors of wild pigs from Canada trying to cross over to Montana which is unfortunate because with all the wilderness we have they will be almost impossible to effectively hunt or control. It’s almost impossible to control in Starr’s without all the mountains to contend with.


----------



## Baymule

I had a 22-250 that dropped deer with one shot and it didn't kick. I loved that rifle. I am right handed, but shoot left handed. Always wanted to know how it feels shooting a left handed rifle.

I don't know the brand of my quick hitch, but I will take pictures for you. Grand kids are on the way, so it might be a few days.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @MtViking,

Thank you for your comments.  The reason I have aimed at the head is that everywhere else I have shot her hasn't killed her, just slowed her down a bit.  The first time I shot her and know that I hit her, I hit her in the right butt cheek (she was facing away from me). SI heard the bullet hit her.  She ran off. This was really early in the morning.  We waited until it got lighter.  We noticed that she appeared to be lying by the burn pile about 150 or so yards away.  We were hoping she was dead.  We got in the Gator and drove down.  When she heard the Gator, she jumped up and ran off.

The second time I shot her, I sneaked down to the pond and crept around to where her wallow was.  I stepped on a stick and she heard it snap.  She took off running and I shot her in the side and possibly in the butt.

I was talking to someone here locally and telling them how I was unable to kill the pig with my 22 rifle.  They said that the only way to kill a pig with a 22 is to hit the pig in the head.  Ever since then I have been aiming for her head.

I might be able to kill her with the 22 if I aimed for her heart, but I think the long rifle hollow points don't have enough momentum to penetrate deeply.

We checked the game camera earlier today and the pig is still alive.  Obviously I will need to use a more powerful gun.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## MtViking

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Mr. @MtViking,
> 
> Thank you for your comments.  The reason I have aimed at the head is that everywhere else I have shot her hasn't killed her, just slowed her down a bit.  The first time I shot her and know that I hit her, I hit her in the right butt cheek (she was facing away from me). SI heard the bullet hit her.  She ran off. This was really early in the morning.  We waited until it got lighter.  We noticed that she appeared to be lying by the burn pile about 150 or so yards away.  We were hoping she was dead.  We got in the Gator and drove down.  When she heard the Gator, she jumped up and ran off.
> 
> The second time I shot her, I sneaked down to the pond and crept around to where her wallow was.  I stepped on a stick and she heard it snap.  She took off running and I shot her in the side and possibly in the butt.
> 
> I was talking to someone here locally and telling them how I was unable to kill the pig with my 22 rifle.  They said that the only way to kill a pig with a 22 is to hit the pig in the head.  Ever since then I have been aiming for her head.
> 
> I might be able to kill her with the 22 if I aimed for her heart, but I think the long rifle hollow points don't have enough momentum to penetrate deeply.
> 
> We checked the game camera earlier today and the pig is still alive.  Obviously I will need to use a more powerful gun.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


Good to know. Pigs are some tough SOBS! I personally wouldn’t hunt any larger animals with a 22 but I know they’ll kill a deer. My Grampa used to kill deer all the time with his 22 when he was a kid. It definitely takes a lot of accuracy with a bullet that small. My 30-06 is over kill for deer or antelope it’ll drop an antelope at 300 yard no matter where I hit it. But since they don’t have a ton of meat I always go for behind the shoulder. Less chance of ruining good meat.  Must be a big pig! I picture the pigs I see at the 4H auctions. They look like a 22 would take one out pretty easy. Makes me want to got wild pig hunting! Lol


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## Baymule

STA you definitely need a larger caliber of rifle. Pigs are clad in some tough, thick skin, then layers of fat, heavy bone, meat, so getting to a vital organ with a puny 22 is likely not going to happen. 

My phone is not charging this morning and it at 2% charged. I am in a quiet panic, don't know WTH is going on with it. So can't take pics of the quick change for you this morning, but i'll get my phone up and going again, then i'll take pics for you.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile.  With the cooler weather, I've been trying to get things done that I hate do to when it is so blamed hot.

The landscape rake works like a champ.  I have been raking around trees cleaning out the debris that has piled up.  Boy, what a difference it makes!  But I need to order a hydraulic toplink, as there are times when the rake is not lifted high enough.  I have intended on doing that, but keep forgetting.  Maybe later today.

I finally set up a gun range with spots at 25 yards, 50 yards, and 100 yards.  I only set it up yesterday, so I have yet to see how much dispersion I have on my shots.

I mowed the south overgrown pastures for the second time this year.  I tried earlier last week, but it was so dry and dusty that I might as well be mowing White Sands National Monument for all the dust I kicked up.  But after it rained -- we got .5 inches -- and then cooled off, I was able to mow it yesterday without coughing to death.  That is good, as my mom, my older sister, and possibly my mom's younger brother are planning to come visit soon, and I wanted the grass to be short, so we wouldn't need to put up with seeds flying up in our faces.

========= Begin Rant Text ========

Last week I was so mad I could have bit a railroad spike it two, I think.  I was one of the victims of the OPM data breach in 2015(?) (as you were probably as well, Mr. @Mike CHS), so OPM paid for 10 years of credit monitoring service with MyIDCare.  I receive an email once a week from them and had been checking them regularly, but I had not checked in a while until last week.  That is when I noticed a "Delinquent Account Notice" on the report from two different credit agencies.  Prior to that time, there was a notice of a "new" mailing address change, where my current address had been changed to my previous mailing address (which was a mail forwarding service that we hired back when we thought we were going RVing, but then ended up buying this place).  "What in the world is going on?" I thought.

So I called the number that was reporting the delinquency.  It turned out that it was Synchrony Bank representing J C Penny.  I remembered that my wife had charged some clothes there in June.  They were sending the bill to the mail forwarding address business instead of to our current address, but because I had forgotten about the bill, it had gone delinquent.  I paid off the bill, and then I tried to find out why my address changed so that the bills were going to the old address).  That is when the fun really began.

Two credit reporting services reported the address change: Equifax and TransUnion.  I called Equifax first.  I went through phone menu hell, providing them with my name, phone number, SSAN, address, date of birth, etc., to the computer before I was finally connected with a human, whose name was Jees.  (I'm not sure how it is spelled but it rhymes with "peace".)  Jees immediately asked for the same info I gave the computer (name, SSAN, etc.).  Once I provided that again, I told him I would like to find out why my mailing address changed from what it currently is to my previous address.  He put me on hold.  When he came back, he again asked for my name, SSAN, etc.  I told him again.  Again, he put me on hold.  After a couple of minutes went by, he came back on line and asked a third time for my name, SSAN, etc.  By this point I am starting to get exasperated.  Again he put me on hold.  After another minute or so, the survey started (which was mentioned when I first called in and was told it would be at the end of the call).  I was furious!   When asked about the service both Jees and the company provided, I rated it terrible for both.  I then hung up.  I was so angry at being unable to get the answer to a simple question.

I waited about 30 minutes or so while I cooled down, and then called back.  After entering the same info again (name, SSAN, etc.), this time I was told that all circuits are busy and to call back later.    I thought, "Yeah, right.  You remembered my poor rating of the service you provided so you are going to ignore me!"

So I called TransUnion instead.  What a difference in service!  Instead of having to go through phone menu hell, I was connected to a human immediately.  I gave her the required info, and then she did a little research (without putting me on hold) and told me that it was J C Penney that had reported the address change!  What?!?  I thanked the nice lady and then hung up.

When we first moved here, I had contacted every one of our creditors, either by phone or online and reported our address change.  I made a note of the date when I had notified each one.  For Penney's I notified them 2018 May 06, two days after we closed on the house.  So either Penney's has a separate web site for credit cards from the web site where orders are placed, or somebody screwed up royally.  The J C Penney credit account is our oldest account, opened some time in 1976.  But if I am going to get reported as delinquent whenever I charge something to that card, I'd be better off closing the account.

========= End Rant Text ========

I hope everyone has a nice evening!  Enjoy this cool weather. 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

After all that---here ya go--


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## Bruce

Pretty sucky, maybe there is a way to tell Equifax about their poor service. I guess the "bright spot" is that it was a company that erroneously changed your address, not some scum stealing your identity.


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## farmerjan

Call JC Penney directly. Whatever/whomever you have to go through and tell them what you have found out and that you are going to take legal action if they do not #1, get the address straightened out; #2 contact the credit bureaus and have them take off the delinquency and report the account as paid on time.  Yes they can do that.  Tell them that you will close your account and tell everyone you know, how badly they treated you for a mistake that they CAUSED.  JC Penney is not doing well financially, and they cannot afford to have customers leave them, in an way, shape, or form. They also cannot afford to have people bad mouthing them. 
Believe me, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and the mad irate customer gets satisfaction or they can cause a whole lot of hurt.  I had a JC Penney account, and they closed it when i had a bad credit report due to a foreclosure many years ago.  I had no outstanding balance with them, had had the account for at least 7-8 years with no late payments or anything.  I was furious and got some upper management person who tried to bend over backwards to get me to not bad mouth them.  Offered me all sorts of enticements to come back as a credit card customer with the same limit I had before.   I finally took back the card, and kept it for a couple of years to help with the credit reporting, then closed it and practically never go in there anymore. 
Subtle threats and promises of retaliation do work.

Yes, TransUnion has been great for me to work with in the past.  Had a credit card with fradulent charges, called the cc company and they quickly took care of it, closed the account, sent me a new card, and they told me to contact the credit agency to make sure that it showed up on my report properly.  TU handled it great and I have always trusted them to get it right, or to bend over backwards trying.


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## AmberLops

Glad you figured out the problem but you shouldn't have gone through all that crap to get an answer!! That's so frustrating...


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## Baymule

STA I took pictures of our quick connect on the tractor. It sure makes things easier!


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## Bruce

What is the bar with all the holes for?


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## Baymule

Bruce said:


> What is the bar with all the holes for?


Our friend and neighbor Robert, who has his own key to the tractor, bought it. I think he intends to put a trailer ball on it so we can move trailers easier than hooking them to the truck. I didn't tell him that we already have one on the mule.


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## Bruce

This would likely have been a better option:





https://www.amazon.com/Receiver-Trailer-Category-Tractor-Drawbar/dp/B01M1DP96U


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## Baymule

I don't really care. If it makes Robert happy to put a tow bar on the tractor that is easily removed, then it's ok with us.


----------



## farmerjan

Those bars are a great help when needing to have more than one type of hitch available at the same time.  We have one with a ball, and can use the holes with a wagon that you just drop a hitch pin through on a hole close to the ball.  They also are great to hook up something that you need to be off center to manuever when quarters are tight.  The only thing that concerns me in the picture is that he does not leave it in the quick hitch but puts the ends through to secure it with the lynch pin on the ends


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## Baymule

I had the quick hitch levers up at that moment because I had just dropped it back in there. I remembered that I promised STA pictures, so I snapped them right quick before my feeble brain short circuited again. LOL


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, Miss @Baymule, for the pictures!  I have the 3-pt hitch similar to the one Mr. @Bruce showed, although I think I got it at Alma Tractor.  I have ordered a hydraulic top link and hoses from Tractor Supply and am awaiting their deliveries.  I may also buy a quick hitch like Miss Baymule and Mr. Bruce showed.  The thing that takes me the longest in hooking up 3-pt equipment is the PTO (if required) and the top link.


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## Bruce

I guess once you hook something up the bar won't roll around. I can see it being useful for towing pin on attachments as Jan mentioned.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Well, it seems like we won't need to worry about the pig any more.  Our neighbor just north of us shot her in his yard.  

It was 33° this morning!  Quite chilly!  But it made easy for working along the edge of the woods.  I keep forgetting to take "before" pictures, and I can't take "after" pictures because the bushes, vines, shrubs, and trees are still where we cut them.  My grapple is out of commission because the left hydraulic cylinder was leaking and I took it to Alma Tractor and they have yet to get it repaired.  As soon as I get everything picked up, then I will take the "after" pictures.

Not much else is happening here.  I hope you folks have a great weekend!  

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

Hope they are at least going to utilize the meat on her.  Glad she is done with all the yard tearing up.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Our neighbor just north of us shot her in his yard.


BIG pig! No wonder she "swallowed" your little 22's.


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## Baymule

She looks like a domestic pig that got loose. There are some around here that have the white belt around their middle like a Hampshire hog. Domestic hogs never stop growing, they can get over 1,000 pounds. Feral hogs tend to be much smaller, it takes a lot of food to grow that big and Mother Nature is very efficient.


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## AmberLops

Glad the pig problem is over for you and your neighbors!
That is one huge pig...I wonder why the person who lost her never went looking for her or warned anyone about it. If I had a pig that got loose, everyone would know! They go 'feral' so quickly and can be so dangerous


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## Baymule

A neighbor several miles away has 2 sows, a feral hog got in and bred one. The resulting offspring looks totally feral, is small at 1 year old and will never get big like the sow. Durned if I know why he even keeps them. They would have been freezer meat a long time ago, were they mine.


----------



## AmberLops

Baymule said:


> A neighbor several miles away has 2 sows, a feral hog got in and bred one. The resulting offspring looks totally feral, is small at 1 year old and will never get big like the sow. Durned if I know why he even keeps them. They would have been freezer meat a long time ago, were they mine.


Does the meat from wild hogs taste any different? I'm guessing it does but I've never had it!


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## Baymule

Wild hog meat is red meat, not that pasty "other white meat" the industrial machine produces. A big old boar, shoot it and let the coyotes and buzzards have it. A young one is quite tasty.


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## farmerjan

As far as the taste, a hog running loose will have some taste of whatever it is eating.  Yes, they have a stronger taste, because they are rooting in the dirt, eating "real food" as opposed to a formulated feed with all sorts of controlled quantities and qualities. 
Years ago, the "mountain people" and any that allowed their hogs to range out in the open, would find and move their hogs to woods that had lots of acorns.  Acorns give hogs a sweeter taste, a little "nutty" flavor.  The nuts also would help to give the hogs a "finish" to their meat. Nuts are high in fat.  Hogs that run in areas that alot of corn is grown, will have a milder flavor and they often will have a little more fat.
  But realize, feral hogs are a leaner type of hog even though most may have originally come from domestic hogs.  At one time, "wild hogs" were called razorbacks and "russian hogs".  There has been some actual evidence that at one time some actual wild "russian boars" were released.  Regardless, hogs are very very adaptable. They also breed faster than rabbits and there are not very many predators that actually go after them, in any great number, except man.  No one in their right mind would go after an adult wild feral hog especially a sow with pigs or an adult boar. 
So the meat is leaner, and will have hints of whatever they were eating.  Hog meat is really a red meat, although the hog industry wanted to make you think it was the other white meat....

Most any mammal that has white meat, means that the meat is deficient in iron and possible also copper.  Veal calves are notorious for being deficient in iron, because they are raised on a diet of mostly all milk.  Any roughage in the rumen will start the process for the rumen to function, and any roughage will have minute minerals and iron is one. Milk is deficient in iron.  Even allowing a true white meat veal calf a chance to eat straw or bedding or hay or anything, will cause the meat to get a pink color.   All this, realize that I do  not like the all white veal.  Before I moved to Va.,   I raised veal calves, not in crates, but in a box stall type of environment, and it was pink veal, not white meat.  Those calves got more milk than you can believe, and I had a couple of people who paid very good for them.  But they had some color because they did eat some roughage. And veal properly raised is very tender but to me it has no real taste.


----------



## AmberLops

Good to know! Thanks for the info @Baymule  and @farmerjan


----------



## rachels.haven

Wow, I learned something new.


----------



## Bruce

farmerjan said:


> They also breed faster than rabbits


Which we know from some members is not always as fast or easy as they would like


----------



## farmerjan

so true....


----------



## AmberLops

Bruce said:


> Which we know from some members is not always as fast or easy as they would like


Got that right!


----------



## Baymule

Right on @farmerjan! Industrial pork and don't forget the Cornish Cross chicken, just don't have much flavor. I would rather eat a 4-6 month scrawny layer breed rooster than a plump CCX. LOL LOL But I raies them anyway, because I have a customer that likes them and our DD and family likes them.


----------



## farmerjan

I find that the cornish x have alot more flavor from being out on the grass/dirt, than the ones raised in stationary pens. I do not like the old scrawny barnyard rooster because I like dark meat and it is usually TOUGH.  I did kill a bunch of laying hens a few years ago and they weren't too bad.  Of course, most of them are best for soup and chicken salad type of uses, but the breast meat was decent and the rest got used for chopped up chicken meat.


----------



## Bruce

Baymule said:


> But I raies them anyway, because I have a customer that likes them and our DD and family likes them.


Ah, but have they tried another type of meat bird to know the difference?


----------



## Baymule

We will be butchering old layer hens soon. I cut the meat off the bone, simmer it enough to shrink the meat, pack in jars and can. I simmer the bones and can the broth. The meat comes out tender, great for cooking with, soups, chicken salad, anything. Full of flavor. The broth is a deep clear yellow, delicious. I can the backs and necks with rice, for the dogs. 



Bruce said:


> Ah, but have they tried another type of meat bird to know the difference?



They have had my canned chicken. When they  get sick, I take them canned chicken and broth. DD likes a can of Campbells chicken soup with a jar of my canned chicken meat and a jar of broth. That way, she gets the noodles. Grand daughters ask for "mean rooster soup" and "rooster juice". I have a mean rooster in the freezer that will join the ladies in a jar.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Sorry I have not been on for awhile.  With this cooler weather, my Beautiful Gal and I have been working along the edges of the pasture for a good bit each day.  By the time we get in, get showered, eat, and rest a bit, it's time for us to read (I read out loud to my Beautiful Gal each day for about 2 hours), and then go to bed.  We have done that for a week.  Yesterday, we quit rather early, so I was able to get back on, but I spent the entire time catching up on all of my alerts.  Today I am now able to post.

Last night we had a pretty strong storm come through.  We normally leave the windows in the bedroom open about 2" to get a breeze through.  Around midnight the wind was so strong that it blew one of my Beautiful Gal's decor items off a table near the window, causing it to fall to the floor and break.  I woke up and heard the wind and thunder.  I closed the windows and went back to bed.  This morning, we were able to see more what happened.  First, the wind blew really hard from the southeast.  The large barrel fan I bought last year at TSC had blown over.  The wicker love seat that was on the south end of the porch had blown north until it collided with a heavy rocker.  The cushion that was in the love seat blew way out into the pasture northwest of the house.  But the worst damage was the large oak tree next to the driveway visible from the front porch was blown over.  Here is what it looked like this morning:


 

 

My Beautiful Gal was heartbroken over the loss of the tree.  I was certainly disappointed.  It always looked so peaceful and shady under that tree.

So this afternoon I started chopping up the tree with the chainsaw.  I guess that I am about 1/4 done.  I hope to finish tomorrow.

Nothing else going on here.

One final note: I have disabled the receipt of private messages.  I wish that I could explain, but I cannot.  The reason has nothing to do with the messages I have received in the past.  It has everything to do with, well, I can't say.  So please don't be offended if you try to send me a PM and are unable to do so.  It has nothing to do with any one of you.  It has everything to do with outside circumstances.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Mike CHS

I have some ugly scrub trees that I wish would fall down but it's always the stately pretty ones that seem to come down.


----------



## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> All,
> 
> Sorry I have not been on for awhile.
> Senile Texas Aggie



That is quite ok, we just went on having a conversation without you! 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> All,
> 
> 
> One final note: I have disabled the receipt of private messages.  I wish that I could explain, but I cannot.  The reason has nothing to do with the messages I have received in the past.  It has everything to do with, well, I can't say.  So please don't be offended if you try to send me a PM and are unable to do so.  It has nothing to do with any one of you.  It has everything to do with outside circumstances.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie



Is someone being mean or ugly to you? Do I need to open up a six pack of Old Lady From Texas Whup A$$ on them? 

Sorry about your oak tree. It is almost like losing a friend.


----------



## Bruce

That was quite some tree and wind! Looks like it may have had some rot in the trunk?? Sorry you lost it, not the sort of thing you can just go out and replace.

Too bad you don't burn wood, in your area that one tree would likely serve the entire winter.

If any of us ever wants to PM you we can always post here for you to PM us first  I ASSUME if you initiate a PM, the recipient can respond.


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## AmberLops

Glad you're okay! I was starting to wonder where you went!
I hope no one is bothering you, if they are let us know and we'll take care of em' 
And i'm sorry about that tree...that's too bad


----------



## Baymule

Bruce said:


> If any of us ever wants to PM you we can always post here for you to PM us first  I ASSUME if you initiate a PM, the recipient can respond.


My Grandfather waggled his finger at me and said, "Never ASSUME anything, it makes an A$$ of U and ME."


----------



## AmberLops

Baymule said:


> My Grandfather waggled his finger at me and said, "Never ASSUME anything, it makes an A$$ of U and ME."


My mom always says the same thing!


----------



## farmerjan

Baymule said:


> My Grandfather waggled his finger at me and said, "Never ASSUME anything, it makes an A$$ of U and ME."


Yep, that was a well known quote around here too...


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Grew up with that quote myself


----------



## Bruce

Baymule said:


> My Grandfather waggled his finger at me and said, "Never ASSUME anything, it makes an A$$ of U and ME."


Which is why I capitalize it so people (might) know that I don't necessarily expect it to be true but I give it better than 50% odds.



AmberLops said:


> My mom always says the same thing!


Same here. How many here HAVEN'T heard it from mom or dad?


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Regarding why I disabled receiving private messages, no one here was mean or rude or anything else like that.  I can recall the following conversations:

+ a conversation with numerous participants that had to do with asking who might be interested in hosting a farmer intern type person (I don't remember that person's name, but I think it was Miss @Baymule who started the conversation).  Since I didn't have anything to teach the intern (other than how NOT to do things), I didn't respond.  But no issue there.

+ a conversation with Mr. @CntryBoy777, where he provided me with his contact information, which was in preparation for the move from Mississippi to Florida.  No issue there.

+ two conversations from someone who checked on me while I was off the forum during that family issue that came up.  The fact that they reached out to me meant a lot to me.  No issue there.

+ a conversation from someone who contacted me about a potentially controversial post, thanking me for it.  During our conversation, we briefly discussed the book _Wholly Unraveled_.  They shared a bit with me about their upbringing, which touched me deeply.  In fact, I would like to pass on this thought to that person, as best expressed by Shaina Nole:






So no problem there.

+ a conversation with someone (which all of you know about, who kindly pointed out how I was being rude to others with my personal questions.  I very much appreciated (and still do) that they contacted me about that.  I also very much appreciate the support that you folks gave me to overlook my unintended rudeness.  That meant a lot to me.

Those are all of the conversations I can recall that I ever participated in.  So it was not who contacted me, nor what they said, nor anything else related to here on the forum.  It was entirely related to outside the forum, and is related to why I was unable to help with Fred's move.  Now onto more interesting things.

I managed to get about 2/3 of the tree cut up.  When I cut through the main trunk of the tree, about 10 feet from the root, I was surprised to discover just how rotten in the center the tree was:

 
There was no sign of the rot on the outside.  I thought the tree was healthy.  Now I am worried about the big oak tree next to the house, wondering if it may be rotten on the inside and could fall on the house with a big wind coming from the north.  Do any of you know how to determine if a tree is suffering from core rot?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

That is a lot of rot!! I would think an arborist could help see if the tree is healthy. Don't know how but it might be a simple as a small bore sample. Definitely don't want that landing on the house next time the wind rips.


----------



## Baymule

I don't know how to test a tree for internal rot. Perhaps your county extension agent could or point you to an arborist who could check the health of the tree. You would be sick about it if the tree fell on the house and you sure wouldn't feel very good if you felled the tree and it was solid on the inside.


----------



## Mike CHS

I think arborists have a way of testing for soundness but no idea how.  White oak trees are notorious for having a lot of rot.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Well, I finally got the fallen tree cut up, and all but the large trunk of the main tree (about 10 feet or so) moved.  Boy, am I tired!  I don't see how the lumberjacks work all day doing that kind of work.

The last bit of work this morning was quite trying for the workplace safety officer, as she and I were sometimes of different opinions on how best to cut up the tree.  I usually deferred to the safety officer, as I tend to get in a hurry at times and put myself at unnecessary risk.  The safety officer wanted to just leave the tree as is, but that was something I insisted on not doing.  We reached compromises along the way, and so I finally got the tree cut up and moved.

One thing I forgot to mention earlier on my journal -- two weeks or so ago, I received the hydraulic top link that I ordered from TSC and got it installed without too much trouble.  Having that is really nice!  When I want to raise the rear part of the landscape rake or shredder really high, I simply shorten the link, and the rear end rises way up!  This makes it easier to back up over something without getting tangled up.  Then when I lower the 3-pt hitch, if I choose, I can lengthen the top link so the rear part goes way down.  So I am glad I bought it.

Finally, in case anyone was wondering, the image associated with the song "How Could Anyone" was that of a romantic couple.  I didn't know that what the image was when I chose it.  Instead, I think of the words of the song as something a parent might say to a child who is being bullied at school, or perhaps what a favorite aunt or uncle would say to a child when the child's parents are treating them badly.  (If you read the summary of the book _Wholly Unraveled_, you will see that is what I had in mind.)

We have a 60% chance of rain tomorrow, so I may be taking the day off from working outside and maybe get the oil changed in the tractor, Gator, and lawn mower.

I hope everyone has a nice evening and a great day tomorrow!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Boy, am I tired! I don't see how the lumberjacks work all day doing that kind of work.


Not making personal comments here but: pssst, they are a LOT younger than you! 

Glad the hydraulic top link is working out so well!


----------



## AmberLops

Sounds like you've been busy!
Do you have a use for all that wood?


----------



## Bruce

At this point I think he NEEDS to put in a wood stove!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

AmberLops said:


> Do you have a use for all that wood?





Bruce said:


> At this point I think he NEEDS to put in a wood stove!



The only use I have for the wood at the moment would be to make wood chips.  Mr. Bruce may be correct -- I may need to put in a wood stove.  As I mentioned last year (after our propane heating was so high -- $900 in one month) that I wish we could put in a wood stove.  Alas, the fireplace was designed for looks, not function, and to only accommodate a propane gas stove.  It won't burn wood, either openly or in a wood stove.  (It is ironic that most of the houses we considered buying before buying this place had fireplaces and/or wood burning stoves, but alas this place does not.)  I think it was Miss @farmerjan who recommended that we consider installing an outside wood burning stove, and we may do that.  But for now, the only use we have for all of this wood on our property is in making wood chips or burning in brush piles.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

Wood heat is satisfying, know that your own labor produced it from your land. It gives you that place to back up to the fire, toasting your backside and getting all warmed up. I miss having a wood heater. No where to put one in this doublewide.


----------



## Bruce

Is there a space where you could put a woodstove with its own chimney?

$900 a month for propane is outrageous, what are you paying per gallon? I think I'm getting screwed at $4.25/gallon. I'm still trying to find someone to put in geothermal. Got a line on someone just recently, close enough to do the work (unlike one who actually did come look at the place) and hopefully not going to quote so high as to be a joke as I got from another.


----------



## farmerjan

I really would look into the wood burning furnace.  Whether you have hot water/baseboard heat or hot air heat, they can be made to accommodate it.  Cut your heating bill way down and will pay for its self in about 2 years.  They run about 5,000 installed here, for a pretty good investment.  Less if you do some of the work yourself. Can also be set up to provide alot of your hot water in the process.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

We have owned a house with a fireplace with a wood stove insert in it.  We didn't save as much money as I had hoped -- we resided in a subdivision in Warner Robins, GA, and I had to buy the wood -- but the heat the stove put out was really nice.  But every house which we have bought has not had a wood burning fireplace, just a natural gas fireplace insert.  That has been fine.

Last year, when we got the $900 propane bill, I decided that was enough.  We turned off our central heat and instead used several space heaters, along with the propane fireplace insert.  That was A LOT cheaper!  Still, not the pleasantness of a real fireplace or wood burning stove.

As for installing a wood burning stove with its own flue, we might could do something like that.  I'll talk to my beautiful Gal to see what she says and let you folks know.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## AmberLops

A woodstove would be great! Fireplaces just don't do much on their own.
When I lived in Maine, i was in an old farmhouse with 5+ bedrooms and the only source of heat in the entire house was a huge fireplace in the downstairs living room. It took so much wood to keep the house warm but I loved it. Chopping wood was NOT fun and that's what I spent the entire summer doing...if I didn't do it, I would have a freezing cold house! The upstairs and kitchen pipes froze almost every night. It was also infested with flying squirrels


----------



## Bruce

How could you leave all that Amber???? Who doesn't love frozen pipes, especially when it is a nightly occurrence?

Even though the only physical difference between a propane heater and a natural gas heater is the nozzle, the cost of operation is quite different. Piped natural gas is generally substantially cheaper than propane brought to the house and pumped into your tank.

By "space heaters" do you mean electric? Must be you have some really cheap electricity, that is usually the most expensive way to heat a house. I wonder if you could replace the furnace with heat pumps. Though from what I've seen they are best in open floor plans since they generally have a single "emitter" (for lack of a better or proper word) per pump rather than a unit that provides heat through whole house ductwork.


----------



## AmberLops

Bruce said:


> How could you leave all that Amber???? Who doesn't love frozen pipes, especially when it is a nightly occurrence?



I can honestly say i don't miss it  It was beautiful out there though.
When i asked the owner of the house what i could do to keep the pipes from freezing,
he said 'you can stand there and thaw them out with a hair dryer'...and that's what i did...for hours every day


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Baymule,

I seem to recall that you own a Kubota subcompact tractor that you named Marigold.  If you still have that tractor, then this may interest you.  The YouTube channel "GP Outdoors" put out a video titled "_#213 Are you a Kubota B Series tractor owner? Check out these tips and mods! outdoor channel._"  In it, Guy mentioned that he made several modifications to his tractor.  First, here is the video link:





In case you are unable to watch the video, here are the changes/additions he made to his Kubota:

He welded a metal mesh to the brush guard to prevent small limbs from striking the front grill.
Because he resides a long way from a Kubota dealer (> 2hrs), he buys oil, hydraulic fluid, and filters to have on hand when he needs them.
He installed an LED light bar kit which he mounted to the top of the ROPS.  Wiring for the lights was already present on the tractor, so the addition didn't take very long.
He uses diesel fuel conditioner, since he resides in central Ontario.
He installed shackles to the end of his drawbar to make it easy to pull items with a chain.  (I have done this to my tractor, and I am glad I did)
He installed a spinner knob on the steering wheel to make it easy to steer the tractor while backing up.
He added a step to the side of the operator's platform, to make it easier to get on and off the tractor.  It won't work if you are using the belly mower on the tractor.
His ROPS top half does not fit tightly into the frame of the lower half, so that it rattles.  But the rail clamp for the BX2680 fits into the threaded hole so that it can screw against the ROPS top half to hold it tight to keep it from rattling
He added wheel spacers so that his wheel chains did not rub against the frame of the tractor.
He built a carry all to fit the 3 pt hitch.  This permits him to carry firewood, tools, etc.
He installed a Quick Hitch on his 3 pt hitch.  I think you already have that.
He buys tractor insurance to cover the tractor and for liability
Hope that was helpful.  Also, you mentioned about truck trouble and Kawasaki Mule trouble.  Did you document all of your troubles?  If so, on which thread do they appear?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I have a pressure washer hose that I somehow cut partway.  Now water sprays out the side.  I have yet to try to repair it.  I am considering trying a hose clamp over the cut but wasn't sure if that would hold.  Have any of you successfully repaired a pressure washer hose.  If so, how did you fix it?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Haven't tried it but I imagine it would be somewhat difficult given the pressure. Certainly you would need something between the hose and the clamp to "seal" the cut.


----------



## Baymule

Ditch the pressure hose, it has been weakened and it is just a matter of time until it blows. Being pressured, it could cause damage or injury. 
safety first!


We have insurance on Marigold. We have the quick hitch and I love it. Also use a fuel conditioner. I don't need a step and Marigold doesn't have a belly mower. I like the shackles and the spinner knob idea!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

If Mr Greybeard were still on the channel, he'd scold me for coveting, as I am now coveting a new attachment for my tractor: a stump bucket!  I had never heard of one until the YouTube channel "Hamiltonville Farm" described one made by Titan Attachments.  So I started looking for stump buckets in use and found a number of videos.  Here is one in use:





I priced different stump buckets and I almost could have bought one for what it cost to repair the hydraulic piston on my tractor that I damaged when trying to pull up a stump with my grapple!  Live and learn, die and forget it all.

Regarding the new site design, one thing I have noticed is that there are no more ads.  I don't know if that is permanent or not, but for that reason alone, I like the new site design.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

you can do that with a backhoe too 
I imagine that stump bucket would be good for digging out rocks too!


----------



## Mike CHS

I have a friend that does commercial stump grinding but gives us an excellent rate to grind stumps.  I use him when space is restricted and a dozer won't be able to navigate.

The friend that filled in our pond has a big D6 dozer that can take out any stump that I will have around here.  I haven't had to use him for that but I will use him to finish up the property line that I'm clearing out.  He couldn't work where I have been working so far because there is a CSX storm drain ditch immediately adjacent to our fence line but I'm getting to a point where he can take out the last 30-40 stumps which will make his while to bring his equipment over.  He charges us $130 an hour and asks that we keep it to a two hour minimum so I won't call him until I get all of the trees topped.  I can pay him $260 a pop quite a few times before I reach the cost of more equipment.


----------



## Bruce

Especially the cost of a dozer!


----------



## Baymule

Friends with dozers are always a good thing!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I know I haven't posted much on my journal lately as to the goings on around the farm.  We have been working along the edges of the pasture, cutting down brush and small trees and cutting off overhanging limbs.  I keep forgetting to take "before" pictures, so I will simply take the "after" pictures and post them some time.

I know that the work to do the cutting was wearing us down.  Our bodies would ache after a half day of work.  (I know I will probably get teased or mocked by those who have to work all day for a living, like Miss @farmerjan, and I will deserve it.  Still, since we aren't spring chickens any more, about a half day's work is all we can stand.)  I started looking for tractor attachments that would make life easier for us.  I had settled on possibly 1 of 2 implements to buy: (1) a Turbo Saw, which is a PTO powered saw that can cut trees at ground level, and (2) a tree shear, which can cut trees at ground level and can also cut limbs.  Here is the Turbo Saw in action:





Here is a tree shear in action:





When I showed my Beautiful Gal the two options I was considering, she voted for the tree shear, since it would cut limbs as well as trunks of trees.  So we ordered it, and after 2 weeks of waiting, it came in today.  It got here too late today for me to try it out, but I will try it out as soon as the weather permits.  (It is supposed to rain for the next few days).  I hope it works out as well as we wish it would.  This will save my Beautiful Gal's back and shoulders from the strain of using the pole saw, and will save my back from using the chainsaw and the reciprocating saw.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## farmerjan

Hey, @Senile_Texas_Aggie , I make absolutely "no fun" of anyone who works an hour or all day.... especially one who is in the "older generation" like me.  Realize, I don't work like that near as much as I did just a couple of years ago.  But I do have some days, that I do crazy hours and then other days I don't.  I did the big farm, 550 cows Monday eve,  then turned around and did a 130 cow herd this morning, and my ankle and knees hurt so much tonight I have done very little the rest of the day.  I stopped and got my "barn glasses" fixed at the opticians' ;  found another that can do welding after my tried and true favorite retired.  This one is a friend of Michael's, I know them but he is closer to them.  I didn't realize she was able to do that.  My glasses are getting older, and the spot she built up so it isn't a perfect weld, but you can't really tell unless you look close.  They are my older pair, and have some scratches, but they are fine for working in the barn.  I have my newer ones, for good, and I like to try to not wear them in the barn because they tend to hold the iodine smell and the cow manure from the dairy cows.  And I did go vote, Va had some state seats up and with DC, we are getting invaded with too many liberal idiots.  Our Gov says it is okay to "abort" a full term fetus.  Whether you agree with abortion up to 20 weeks or whatever it was, or not, I don't feel that it should be decided in the courts as to whether it is legal...... BUT, a full term fetus is not an ABORTION, it is outright murder.   Even in cows, we don't call losing a calf at what is considered full term,   an abortion. And most farmers do their D@#mndest   to save a calf,  There are alot of things at play, and again, I cannot pass judgement on a woman who has an abortion, it is between her and her supreme maker/God/ or whatever she believes in.  It is just that a full term pregnancy is not an abortion.  It is murder.  The fetus is capacle of being able to survive outside the womans body, so it is not aborted.   He  is just too way out there and is not very supportive of farmers.  He was not up for re-elction yet, but some others were.  We more conservative folks, are getting out numbered buy the idiots in the DC beltway area.

Working smarter, not harder, is the way to go.  I applaud the progress and amount of work you do.


----------



## Baymule

STA, sometimes a half day is all we can do also, especially in the heat. Good for you that you got equipment that will help you and your Beautiful Girl. 

@farmerjan I agree with you, abortion of a full term baby is MURDER plain and simple. That requires a sick mind and dark soul.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

The rain held off long enough for us to try out the tree shear.  It certainly makes quick work of limbs and small trees.  Less often will we need to bend over to cut trees.  I was a bit disappointed to see that it had problems with trees over about 3" in diameter.  It is rated to cut trees 5" in diameter, but I had trouble cutting trees over about 3".  Similarly with stumps.  Anything over about 3" in diameter it would not cut.  Still, I am glad we bought it.  This will make cutting small trees and limbs so much easier.  But it also means that I will need to buy a stump bucket to get up the larger stumps.  Oh well, another toy for the tractor!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Can you contact the manufacturer? Seems like if they claim 5" that could maybe be the "has to work at it" diameter but anything less should cut well. Looks like a giant lopper? I think I'd be concerned that a tree could fall back on the tractor at times. Does that seem unlikely?


----------



## Baymule

Congrats on the new toy!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Looks like a giant lopper? I think I'd be concerned that a tree could fall back on the tractor at times. Does that seem unlikely?



It is a giant lopper.  A tree could fall towards the tractor.  Although the tool has a bar that diverts the tree away from the operator, it's not foolproof.  I had one tree start falling toward me, but the bar diverted the tree away from me.  But that is something I will need to be aware of.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Well, I thought I would let everyone know how working with the lopper/tree shear has gone.  Before I do, I need to tell this Texas Aggie joke, as it will illustrate what happened when I tried using the tree shear.

A man decided to start selling firewood.  Since he worked a lot of hours at his regular job, he hired a Texas Aggie to do the actual labor.  Because money was a bit tight, initially he only purchased the minimum of tools, namely an ax and a large hand saw, for the Aggie to use.  The Aggie agreed to do the work using only those tools.  After a month or so, he was able to sell the wood for a profit, but he could not meet the demand, because cutting the wood took such a long time.  Since money wasn't so tight by that time, he decided to buy the Aggie a chainsaw.  After another month or so, the Aggie wasn't producing any more wood than before.  He asked the Aggie what the trouble was.  The Aggie replied that he just couldn't get the chainsaw to work, and so he went back to using the ax and hand saw.  So the man decided to see what was wrong with the chainsaw.  When the man fired up the chainsaw, the Aggie jumped back and said, "What's that racket ?!?"

The Aggie joke above illustrates what I experienced with the tree shear.  In the time I used the tree shear before, I had not charged up the battery for the controller that controlled the positioning (vertical / diagonal / horizontal) of the shear.  So the day after it finished raining, I charged up the battery, got the remote to register with the receiver, and then powered up the tractor and activated the 3rd function valve and the remote.  The shear pivoted to the vertical position.  "Great!" I thought.  When I went to use the shear along the edge of the woods, I was able to lop off limbs just fine.  But when I activated the remote to pivot the head to the horizontal, it wouldn't move.  It would only stay in the vertical position.  I could hear the solenoid work that was letting hydraulic fluid flow, so that was working.  I thought, though, that the controller was failing to recognize it was at the end of the rotation and was not reversing.

So I contacted the company and explained the problem to the service rep.  After some discussion, he happened to mention that it is not the controller that decides which way the head rotates.  All the controller does is to open the hydraulic valves.  It is the 3rd function valve controller that determines the direction of rotation.  So I went to the shop, fired up the tractor, pressed the remote to open the pivot valves, and pressed the other direction on the 3rd function valve.  It rotated to the horizontal just fine!  Dummy me had been pressing the "open" button on the 3rd function valve the whole time.  Had I pressed the "close" button on the 3rd function valve, it would have rotated to the horizontal.  But because I was a dummy and thought the pivot controller was the one that decided the direction, I had never tried the "close" button on the 3rd function valve!  STUPID SHOULD HURT!  (Of course, if it did, I would be in pain all the time!)

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## frustratedearthmother

lol - that's a funny story.  But, I'm not laughing at you - I'm laughing with you!


----------



## Bruce

I'm glad stupid didn't hurt this time! That could be one dangerous machine.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

More fun with the lopper/tree shear.  I wish Mr. @greybeard was still on the forum.  He would give me a Zinger™ award for sure.  Since he is not, then I expect you, Mr. @Bruce, or you, Miss @Baymule, to award it to me.  I have definitely earned it.  Here is why:

After trying out the tree shear briefly, when I brought it back into the shop, I connected the battery charger to an electrical chord to charge the battery up, so when I was ready to use it next time it would be ready.  Then when I tried using it the next time and had trouble getting the head to rotate, I went back to the shop and read the owners manual trouble shooting.  One thing it said was to reset the receiver, I needed to use a powerful magnet.  Somehow during this troubleshooting, I think I removed the battery charger from the inside housing to be able to get to the receiver better.  I _thought_ I put the charger back into the housing.  But when I finished using the lopper/tree shear (after learning how it really works) and tried plugging in the charger to an electrical cord, there was no charger in the housing!  I have searched everywhere I can think of in the shop and still have not found it.  I hope it is not in the pasture somewhere.    Now how much talent does it take to lose a battery charger that is stored in a protective housing?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Now how much talent does it take to lose a battery charger that is stored in a protective housing?


😢   So sorry!  Hope you find it!🤓


----------



## Bruce

You can't have the Zinger ™ award, it is housed here. I managed to back up just a BIT too far when moving snow the other day and ran the back of the flail into the hood of DD2's car. It also dredged a rut in the headlight lens. Now I gotta pay to fix them (fix means replace)    I don't know that any insurance covers running into your own car with a flail mower when it is parked off the street. Even more sad (if possible) is that both of those parts (plus a bunch of others) were replaced this past February after DD2's accident.


----------



## Mike CHS

I think about everyone on this forum has their share of Zingers so you aren't alone.


----------



## AmberLops

@Mike CHS  is right!
You're definitely not alone


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @Bruce, sir,

Ouch!  That was an expensive backup!  OK, how about we share a Zinger™ award?

Regarding the charger, I never found it, but I discovered that the battery is 12V, so an ordinary car charger will work.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

No need for you two to share, you can each have your very own award!

@Bruce 

@Senile_Texas_Aggie


----------



## B&B Happy goats




----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, Miss @Baymule!  How did you find a picture that looks so much like me?

Today my Beautiful Gal and I continued working along the edge of the pasture.  I was using the grapple to pick up what we cut down yesterday, while my Beautiful Gal was using the pole saw to continue trimming or cutting down trees.  Near the end of the work day, my Beautiful Gal cut through a substantial sized cedar tree.  It wouldn't fall because its limbs were hung up in the limbs of the trees next to it.  I decided to push it over with the grapple.  I didn't push it up high enough on the trunk.  Instead, the bottom of the tree moved away from the stump, and the tree fell toward and onto the tractor.  Fortunately it wasn't so heavy that it crashed through the canopy, or I could have been a goner.  But one thing it did was to completely break off the hydraulic lines at the grapple.  I didn't notice at first, but realized it when I tried to open the jaws of the grapple and of course they did not open.  So tomorrow I will install new hydraulic lines.  Oh the joys of brush clearing!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## rachels.haven

Yikes, I can visualize that completely. Glad you made it without total tractor destruction.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Glad you're ok - even if the tractor sustained some injuries!  Tractor parts can be replaced....


----------



## Bruce

Be careful out there STA!!!! Glad only your tractor suffered injury. I trust you disconnected the grapple lines so you didn't blow all your hydro fluid out. Would have made for a long walk back to the house.

I'm trying to think of the physics involved with the tree in that situation. I know I've seen Mike Morgan push trees over but IIRC he was doing it with an excavator so reaching higher up would be easier. In your case I wonder if pulling on the base would be better than trying to push it out of the other tree. Not sure I'd want to pull with the grapple though because who knows how much force it would see when the tree dropped. Maybe better to tie a long line to the base and pull from a distance?

Sure am glad you are still with us.

And Bay, thanks for providing the physical trophies


----------



## AmberLops

Glad you're okay!! That could have gone horribly wrong  You gotta be more careful please!

@Baymule where's my trophy??  You know i deserve one!


----------



## Baymule

AmberLops said:


> Glad you're okay!! That could have gone horribly wrong  You gotta be more careful please!
> 
> @Baymule where's my trophy??  You know i deserve one!



Right here it is!






​


----------



## AmberLops

Baymule said:


> Right here it is!


AW! You got me a trophy! Thank you


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I haven't posted in awhile so I thought I would let you folks know what we have been up to lately.  Here is a picture of the area where we have been working: . The thicket of trees that goes from the lower right to more or less upper left follows a creek that crosses our property. We had been cutting down the brush and small trees trees along the edge of that thicket over the past several weeks. When we discovered that the thicket wasn't particularly wide at one spot (about 30 yards), we decided to thin out those trees so that we could see through the thicket. (Is a thicket of woods that has been thinned out called a "thinit"? ) Once we did that, we liked the look so much that we have tackled thinning out all of the woods along the creek.  Right now we are working on the southeastern (lower right) part of the thicket.  We are currently hampered by the fact that it is difficult to get into the part with the tractor or Gator.  The creek borders the north and east, the west has a steep drop off, and along the south is a small drainage ditch.  I am currently planning on building a bridge to put across the drainage ditch so I can drive the tractor into that part.  We have already cut down the small trees and pulled down the briars out of the trees, and now all we need to do is get the debris out of there.

Once we finally finish I will take pictures of all of our work.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Mike CHS

That's a lot of work but the results are always gratifying.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

That is going to look great


----------



## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> We have already cut down the small trees and pulled down the briars out of the trees, and now all we need to do is get the debris out of there.
> 
> Once we finally finish I will take pictures of all of our work.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie



I HATE GREENBRIARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## farmerjan

Baymule said:


> I HATE GREENBRIARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Gee, @Baymule   I don't think I realized you didn't like greenbriars


----------



## farmerjan

Sounds like alot of work @Senile_Texas_Aggie .  Good for you both.  It is really nice that the two of you seem to enjoy working together on those projects.  And yes, PLEASE be careful.....


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Baymule said:


> I HATE GREENBRIARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Miss @Baymule, I was thinking of you as I pulled them down from the trees...  



farmerjan said:


> Sounds like alot of work @Senile_Texas_Aggie . Good for you both. It is really nice that the two of you seem to enjoy working together on those projects. And yes, PLEASE be careful.....



Yes, we do enjoy making our place look nicer.  It is slow going but the effort is worth it.  And I will be as careful as my Senile Texas Aggie I/Q will let me...  

This morning I started work on building a bridge.  My plan is to assemble it all here at the shop and then carry it down to the ditch using the tractor.  My assembly plan is to have 3 railroad cross ties running lengthwise along the direction of travel and 2 cross ties, 1 at each end.  On top, running from side to side I plan to have pressure treated 2x4s.  I plan to notch the cross ties so that I can bolt them together.  I managed to get the 2 end cross ties notched.  You talk about work!  I had to sharpen the chainsaw 3 times to get the cutting done!   That took all morning. Next will be notching the 3 cross ties that will run lengthwise. Have any of you cut cross ties before with a chainsaw? Did you know they were that hard? I certainly did not.

Also, do you think that 2x4s will be strong enough to support a tractor?  I am hoping that they will.  With the cross tie in the middle, I am hoping that the stress on them won't be too great.  I guess I will find out the first time I drive across it!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE !!!


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## frustratedearthmother

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving backatcha!


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## AmberLops

Happy Thanksgiving! 
Sounds like you've been super busy! All your hard work pays off and you're making a big difference in your land!


----------



## Bruce

Baymule said:


> I HATE GREENBRIARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Geez, now you tell us. Guess I will have to send your Christmas present back.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Also, do you think that 2x4s will be strong enough to support a tractor


Depends on the span.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I finally got all of the cross ties notched and the frame assembled:


At the time I took the picture, I did not have the pressure treated lumber.  I decided to use 2x6x8 instead of 2x4x8.  I hope the tractor is able to pick up the bridge once the cross pieces are on it.  I'll probably just lay the 2x6s on the frame and try to pick it up.  That way, if I am unable to pick it up, I will not have marred the pressure treated wood.  But then, it will be back to the drawing board on building a bridge that my tractor can pick up AND that will support the weight of the tractor when I drive over it.

Mr @Mike CHS, Miss @Baymule, Miss @farmerjan, Miss @Ridgetop, Miss @RollingAcres, Miss @B&B Happy goats, and all other folks on this forum who have or are considering getting farm animals, primarily ruminants -- I saw a YouTube video today on the channel Red Tool House where the husband told about how black cherry leaves are toxic and can be fatal to farm animals if enough is ingested.  You folks probably knew that but I certainly didn't.  Here is the video in case you are interested:





I hope everyone is doing well.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Mike CHS

I was aware of that but it's one of those things that is not harmful if they ingest very little of them.  I have cut down a bunch of them and I was able to get several out with the front end loader.  Our sheep don't like the leaves and none of the cherry trees at our place are inside the paddocks so what they do get exposed to is blown in.  I'm sure if they were hungry enough they would eat more but we don't let that happen.  

For your bridge, do you have a clear enough area to drag your bridge to where it needs to go.  I had slab rocks that were 5-6" thick and 5-8 feet in diameter that I couldn't lift up but I was able to push or drag all of them to where they still rest.


----------



## farmerjan

Wild cherry tree leaves are only toxic when they are wilting.  A cow can eat them while they are green, growing and after they have dried up, with very little problems.  It is something to do with the wilting that makes them so toxic.  We have tried over the years to eliminate most/all the wild cherries in any of the pastures we own, and try to convince the owners of places we rent to cut them down in winter.  The bark is more bitter I guess because they seldom will bother the down trees if there are no leaves on them.  I think that the leaves are more toxic when young too, but anytime they are wilted they are cause to be VERY concerning.  
Thanks for looking out for all of us livestock people, @Senile_Texas_Aggie ,  sometimes it is easy to get so busy and forget some of the simple things.


----------



## Baymule

My sheep will eat green peach leaves, which when wilted, are toxic. All stone fruits leaves, when wilted, are toxic to livestock. 

*Cyanogenetic Plants (glucosides, glycosides)*

Skip to Cyanogenetic Plants (glucosides, glycosides)​​These contain under certain conditions, prussic acid (hydrocyanic acid), a deadly poison that interferes with the oxygen-carrying ability of the blood. Death in these cases is usually rapid and with little outward symptoms. Members of the prunus family of plants, especially wild cherries, are dangerous. *Peaches, plums, wild cherry, and other stone fruits* belong to this group of plants. Wilting of the green leaves caused by frost, storm damage, or by cutting, changes a glucoside (glycoside) found in the leaves to hydrocyanic acid (HCN) and sugar. The sweet, wilted leaves are thus more attractive to animals than normal foliage. Hydrocyanic acid content varies widely, but under some conditions a few handfuls of leaves may be enough to kill a horse or cow. _This type of poisoning should be suspected when sudden death of animals follows windstorms or early sharp frosts. These leaves apparently lose their poison after they have become dry; the limp, green or partially yellowed leaves are the most dangerous._
​*These trees do not have to be directly growing in the paddocks where the animals graze. Small branches and leaves broken off and blown by winds during a tornado, a hurricane or a strong storm can land in a pasture, wilt and become very dangerous to livestock ingesting them. *
​*Sudan grass and sorghums* are also cyanogenetic plants. These plants are usually deadly when damaged or frozen. Aftermath sprouts following an early frost are particularly dangerous. Very little sudan grass poisoning occurs from animals trampling down plants and later eating them although this is often listed as dangerous. In dry weather, sudan grass is often pastured to the ground without ill effects. After sudan grass has been repeatedly frozen and the plants are completely dead, it is safe but not very valuable for pasture.
​Once frozen, sorghum, sorghum sudan hybrids, or their aftermath should never be pastured. As long as the plants show any green color they may be very poisonous. Both frosted sorghum and sudan grass can be best and most safely utilized by ensiling them for at least two weeks before feeding. Normal ensilage fermentation safely eliminates the poisonous principle.








						Poisonous Plants to Livestock | NC State Extension Publications
					

A guide to many of the plants, shrubs, and flowers that are poisonous to animals.



					content.ces.ncsu.edu


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## rachels.haven

Yikes, thanks for the warnings. I didn't know about the grass. We have giant choke cherries and some wild european cherry weed trees here, and at least the smaller ones will be going down as soon as I can cut them. Some are too big (but DH says they look like trees from night mares, so they might be coming out next time we have extra funds). They also don't do that great at 30-40+ foot size and are slowly (some not so slowly) self destructing. It's fun to watch in a arborly-grotesque way. Only the european cherries are healthy enough to fruit.


----------



## Baymule

Click on the link for a good list and description of toxic plants. I research things to death, sure don't want to unleash a toxic invasive on our place!


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## farmerjan

Cut any of the stone fruit trees, ie wild cherry trees,  in the late fall after all the leaves are off.  The animals don't care much for the bark unless they are near to starving.  The trees can lay there until you get them cut up for firewood.  They make good logs to burn because cherry is a good hard wood.  Big ones can make some very pretty wood to work into furniture and such.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Gosh, everyone, thanks for all of your responses.  I figured you folks would know already, but in case you didn't, or in case someone else stumbles on these postings, maybe it can help them.

The first thing this morning I placed all of the boards I had bought onto the bridge frame and tried to pick up the frame and boards with the tractor.  I could.  Then my Beautiful Gal and I got busy.  She drilled the pilot holes using the drill and started the screws, while I drove the screws with the impact wrench.  With her adult supervision and professional help, we got the deck on the frame.  Here is a picture of the completed bridge:



Next came the real test -- will the bridge hold up the tractor?  Here is the result.  (Miss @Rammy was kind enough to appear so that none of you, especially her, would be shocked to see what the real Senile Texas Aggie looks like.)


I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the day!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## farmerjan

So, how's the bridge working out?  Everything going okay, been a week since you've posted any new adventures.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @farmerjan,

Thanks for asking about me.  Regarding the bridge, we have yet to try it out, as the area where we needed the bridge to get to is still a bit soggy.  It is right next to the creek and has had a good bit of creek overflow deposited there.  Together with lots of trees to get out, we are trying to let it dry out well before trying to get in that area with the tractor.

We have been working on other parts of the farm while waiting on the soggy area along the creek to dry out.  The first area where we have worked is pictured below, labeled "A".


My Beautiful Gal wasn't happy with our having trimmed along the edge of the woods next to "A", so we decided to thin out the woods quite a bit along that edge.  We stopped after a couple of days because the tractor was getting the ground muddy there, so we wanted to let it dry out a bit.  Our goal is to clear out that part of the woods till we can easily get to a stand of tall pine trees that is just west of there.  There are almost no briars or smaller trees there among the tall pines, and hearing the wind in the trees is really magical.  So we will finish once the ground dries out soon.

Yesterday and today I decided to trim along the line of trees labeled "B", "C", and "D" in the picture using the tree shear.  That thing is amazing!  It sure beats trying to reach the base of a tree, especially a cedar, with a saw, even a chain saw.  I managed to get all of the "B" part done, most of the "C" part done, and part of the "D" part done.  I finally remembered to take some pictures as well.  (I have been urging Mr. @Mike CHS to take pictures whenever he worked along his fence line, and yet would forget to do the same! )  Once I get finished cutting the trees, picking up all of the brush, and then mowing the freshly cut area, I will post the "before" and "after" pictures for comparison.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Before everyone leaves for or gets busy with the holidays, I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Winter Solstice, Happy Festival of Saturnalia, and a Happy New Year!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## farmerjan

Happy "all of those holidays" to you  and your wife too.  Where have you been lately?  Not too many posts..... maybe that's good because you haven't had any "interesting incidents" to report !!!!!


----------



## Baymule

Haha, Happy Everything to Everybody.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

farmerjan said:


> Where have you been lately? Not too many posts..... maybe that's good because you haven't had any "interesting incidents" to report !!!!!



You are right -- I haven't had any "interesting incidents" to report.  I do have 2 short video clips of my using the tree shear that I have yet to post to YouTube.  Once I finally get that done, then I'll post them here on BYH.

Speaking of the tree shear, the battery that powers the receiver and solenoid to pivot the clipper head has gone bad.  I haven't decided whether to contact the manufacturer, try to order a replacement battery, or simply bypass the receiver entirely and drive the solenoid from wires connected to the tractor.

One thing that has kept me busy the past few days is that I ordered a new laptop, as our previous laptop was getting long in the tooth.  It runs Windows 7, while the new one runs Windows 10.  Learning where Microsoft put everything in the new user interface has been taking quite a while.  Plus, installing the software that I like to use has taken some time: Mozilla Firefox as the default Web browser, DuckDuckGo as the default search engine, and Bitdefender as the default antivirus has taken quite a bit of time, especially considering our SLOW Internet speeds.  I still have Mozilla Thunderbird to install, and probably some others that don't come to mind.  But I am getting there.  I hope to start posting more regularly once I get the laptop configured.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Learning where Microsoft put everything in the new user interface has been taking quite a while.


As it has always been. Don't know why they can't leave things in the same places.


----------



## farmerjan

I have a windows 7 and they are supposed to stop "supporting it" with updates and such in Mid-Jan..... Maybe I ought to just get a new one and sent it to  you to get  it set up since that IS NOT MY FORTE'......

Agree @Bruce ,   leave it alone ..... why fix something that AIN'T BROKE.....


----------



## rachels.haven

*insert plug for Linux operating system here like a good programmer's wife*

It's like windows, but open source and probably won't go away.


----------



## thistlebloom

Our Kid#2 always installs Linux on our computers. Other than that I don't know nothin'...


----------



## Bruce

farmerjan said:


> I have a windows 7 and they are supposed to stop "supporting it" with updates and such in Mid-Jan..


"stopping support" only means they aren't going to fix any new security issues that come up. It isn't going to stop working just because they stop "supporting" it. If all you do with your computer is email, forums, maybe some online games and whatever programs you use on the machine like Excel, you don't have much to worry about just continuing on Win 7. You POSSIBLY wouldn't be able to run later versions of Excel or whatever but if you don't need the new features does it really matter?


----------



## farmerjan

I still can do my work stuff, and yeah , I do realize that it means not updating security and stuff.  But I do online banking and all that.  So that is a concern.

OKAY, tell me about this Linux stuff?  I am about clueless for the electronic stuff.


----------



## Bruce

LINUX is open source UNIX, does that help?   

Similar to a Mac in that you can run software written only for it which leaves out all the stuff written for Windows™ ... except that there are ways to run Windows™ apps on a LINUX machine
Windows on a Linux machine

The last machine I had at work (2013) was Linux after WinNT went out of service but I still had to run Windows™ in a virtual machine because we were required to run Lotus Notes for email.

BTW, LINUX is free and there are lots of apps written for it. I don't know anything about how many security holes may or may not exist in LINUX nor if they pop up how quickly they are patched.


----------



## rachels.haven

I'll give DH a break from Legos with the boys and ask him about Linux security issues. That's one of his areas of expertise.


----------



## rachels.haven

DH says "it's pretty secure". Basically it's as secure as you make it, he also says. Also most viruses and the like are written for Android, Windows, and Mac and not Linux, so you get the benefit of being less common and not written for.
I've never had an issue with it and I'm not overly tech savvy. Linux mint or a variation of Ubuntu is good and simple. I've used mint. I like it.


----------



## rachels.haven

He also says most security issues lately are phishing- the tricking you into giving them your password for a website while looking like a/the legit website, so always look out for that whatever you use.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I am feeling a bit down today because my favorite toy, namely my tractor, is in the shop awaiting repair to a power steering hydraulic line.  I first noticed a problem a week or so ago when the front tires would move when I turned the steering wheel.  I mistakenly thought that the power steering used the hydraulic fluid reservoir that the other hydraulics used.  But when I checked I found that it had its own reservoir.  I kicked myself for failing to check it before and letting it get so low.  After refilling the reservoir, the steering worked fine.  I didn't see any leaks anywhere and so just figured it had gradually leaked out over the years.  But a couple of days later and the same thing happened again.  This time I checked for leaks and found that the fluid was squirting out whenever I turned the steering wheel.  After looking more closely, I discovered that the return line from the steering wheel back to the power steering pump had been bent at the connection it makes on the left side of the tractor.  Because the leak occurred only when I turned the steering wheel, that was why I never found any hydraulic fluid on the shop floor (I back straight into the shop).  So yesterday I decided to take it to Alma Tractor to have them repair it.  So now I am without a tractor.    I could go work in the woods without a tractor, but I have been spoiled by having one.  So now I am sitting on the couch reading BYH!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

There ARE worse things you could be doing STA   
If it is a specific line could you not have one made up, install it yourself and save money?


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> If it is a specific line could you not have one made up, install it yourself and save money?


I may could have had one made up.  I didn't even think to check to see if it could be done (slap forehead here).  I did think about perhaps sealing it with some kind of clamp, had it been a hole in the line, instead of being bent.  But once I saw what it was, I decided that buying a replacement line was what I should do.  But when I called the parts department at Alma Tractor, they told me that they were not even sure they could get the part.  That's when I decided to take the tractor to the shop and have them look for the line.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I have a question for all of you folks who may know: how can I find out about all of the different programs available to help farmers and ranchers with improving their places or help with food or livestock production?  I remember when I first asked for advice for what I should do with 100 acres of pasture and someone suggested to grow trees.  I wasn't interested into looking into that at the time, but I saw a "Kapper Outdoors" YouTube video recently where he mentioned getting a check from the government for those trees being planted on his farm.  Early on Mr. @greybeard mentioned that there were government programs for helping pay for the costs of installing new fencing.  While I wasn't interested in having livestock at the time, I may one day.  And Mr. @Mike CHS had some kind of assistance in building/improving his sheep handling facilities.  So there are definitely programs out there to help farmers and ranchers.  I am just not sure where to look.  Would it be the Dept of Agriculture web site?  Maybe Arkansas Agriculture web site?  I feel at a loss on where to look.

Thanks, all, for your help.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## B&B Happy goats

it's ok STA your tractor will be out of surgery soon and come home fully recovered , and ready to go back to work go have a bowl of chicken soup, you'll feel much better


----------



## Mike CHS

STA - the ag enhancement program here in Tennessee is called exactly that.  Dept of Agriculture is the controlling entity but our Extension Service (ran out of University of Tennessee) handles all of the direct liaison with the farmers.  Their web site and the Ag Dept web site has all of the details on the various things they offer. I would guess that you can find out what you need to know from the University of Arkansas.  Every state that I am familiar with has various programs for more things you can imagine.  Our ram originally came out of the University of Arkansas Ram Lamb Parasite Resistance Program.  The ram that @Baymule now has came out of a similar program at Virginia Tech.

There are too many things to list in a forum post but it should be easy to find the info for your state.  It has been a long time ago when I first started looking but it was easy.  Besides being equipment or livestock improvement related there is info available.  Our UT extension agent has a mailing list that we got on and get monthly or sometimes more often email schedules with everything that is coming up.  In the case of our building mod, (other than the original request to enter the program) all we had to do was take before and after pictures and adhere to the states specification.

Arkansas may be different but here in Tennessee we have to participate in the Master Small Ruminant Certification Program every three years that is held by UT.


----------



## Mike CHS

I forgot one other thing.  TN also has a program where you can get literally hundreds of sapling trees to reforest property but there are restrictions to how you can use that property down the road so I won't go down that road.


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## farmerjan

Your county extension agent should be able to get you started.  They call my son when there are programs that they think we would benefit from but realize that we have been dealing with them for years for different things.  But like @Mike CHS  said, you have to get on their radar, get an initial contact with them.  There should be some sort of website for Dept of Ag - Arkansas.... there will be some sort of office in the county office building for ag related stuff.  There is also the soil and water conservation group that works along with some of the programs that doles out money for fences and water resources and such. That will mean totally fencing livestock out of water and drilling fences, which then requires electricity and another bill to pump a well pump to water the livestock.  I don't think that it is the best way to water livestock if there is a natural source available.  I don't like to see creek banks all broken down and torn up and soil winding up in the water.  But some developed and controlled watering areas are not so bad.  
We currently have 8 electric bills;  6 for water from wells at pastures.  And there is a charge to turn them off for the 6 months that the animals are not at the pastures, so it is cheaper to leave the electric on and pay the monthly minimum charges.  That's crazy...... and expensive; considering it is a minimum charge of 35.00 month PER ACCOUNT.  Since the wells are at different pastures, different owners we rent from, it gets a little ridiculous.  
Do people really realize what it costs to "pay them rent for their land" and then they get the land use tax breaks ?????
We have one place that all she asks for is to get the taxes paid,  as the rent.  She is a peach.  We try to do whatever she wants done as she never asks for anything that is unreasonable.  Have to rebuild her board fence around the yard this year, she will buy the boards and posts, we will do the labor for nothing as a thank you for the wonderful landlord she is.


----------



## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I may could have had one made up.  I didn't even think to check to see if it could be done (slap forehead here).  I did think about perhaps sealing it with some kind of clamp, had it been a hole in the line, instead of being bent.  But once I saw what it was, I decided that buying a replacement line was what I should do.  But when I called the parts department at Alma Tractor, they told me that they were not even sure they could get the part.  That's when I decided to take the tractor to the shop and have them look for the line.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


I take it that the line is a metal line? You said it was bent, if it were a hydraulic hose, it could be easily replaced. Metal lines are specifically fitted to the equipment and are not easily made-they must come from the manufacturer. Hydraulic lines also cannot be sealed, repaired, duct taped or patched, the hydraulic fluid is under pressure and will thwart any futile effort to repair a hose. But on the bright side, if you bust a hydraulic hose, tractor places and O'Reilley's Auto parts make the hoses. Take a picture or pictures of the hose before taking it off so you know how it goes back on.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Regarding the power steering line, yes, it is a metal line.  It is shaped to fit closely to the tractor.  It is the return line that goes from the steering wheel to the coupler, which in turn runs from the left side of the tractor to the right side to connect to the return port on the power steering pump.  Had it been a hydraulic hose, I would have tried to replace it, but being a metal one, with special bends where it connects to anchor points to the tractor, I didn't see me buying metal hydraulic tubing and getting it to fit.  It never occurred to me that a hydraulic shop may have been able to make such a line.  I talked to Alma Tractor yesterday and they already have the line on order, arrival date TBD.

Regarding the Arkansas department of agriculture, I will look into what they have to offer.

Thanks, everyone, for your help.  And Happy New Year to all!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Good news on the tractor -- it has been repaired and is ready for me to pick it up.  The shop didn't finish until late yesterday, too late for me to pick it up yesterday, and the dealership is closed today, so I plan to pick it up tomorrow or Friday (it's forecast to rain tomorrow).

Also, I finally uploaded two short clips of the tree shear in action.  The first one is where I cut down a small tree.  I was recording with my phone, holding it in my left hand while I tried to drive and operate the tree shear with my right.  The second video is of my cutting off a limb.  This time I got into position before I started recording, so it is not as jerky and also is shorter.  These two films will show what we have been doing recently.











Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

That looks like it works really well!
I say you pick up the tractor tomorrow rain or shine. If it is decent weather Friday you don't want to waste work time going to get the tractor.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> I say you pick up the tractor tomorrow rain or shine.



That is what I decided to do.  The forecast for Friday changed from 0% to 40%, while forecast for today was 30%.  I made it over there and back without any rain.  So my toy is back and I am happy!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Yesterday I attached the landscape rake and raked along the woods next to the driveway, picking up what I raked and putting into a burn pile.  Today my Beautiful Gal wanted to paint, so I removed the landscape rake and attached the mower, going over to continue to pick up all of the trees and limbs I cut two weeks or so ago.  I wasn't out there long before the tractor died. while driving along mowing the edge of the woods.  I was about 1/2 mile from the house, so I walked to the house and got the Gator with the toolbox, a digital voltmeter, some fuses and electrical tape.  I confirmed my suspicions that I had shorted out the neutral safety switch wiring to ground and blown a fuse.  After replacing the fuse and then carefully repairing the neutral safety switch wiring, I drove the Gator back to the shop and then walked back to the tractor.  All that took about an hour.

I worked to about 1:30 or so and decided to quit for the day (I'm retired and can be a lazy bum if I want).  As I was heading back to the house, I decided to set fire to 2 brush piles I had unsuccessfully tried to burn before.  This time I was able to light the one by the pond successfully.  Once it was going, I drove over to the other pile in the pasture just north of the house and lit that brush pile.  As I was driving to the house, I looked at the brush pile near the pond.  The pasture looked like it was on fire.  So I headed back down that way.  Sure enough, it was.  The wind was blowing pretty hard and the fire was spreading quickly, headed towards the woods to the east.  So I engaged the mower and lowered it as closely to the ground as I could get it.  The mower usually blew out the flames.  But the wind was shifting around and I would put out one area only to have another area start breaking out, headed for the woods.  I would then go over to that area and mow over the flames, usually putting them out, and then the wind would shift again.  Back and forth I would go.  I finally got out all of the fire in the pasture.  Here is a picture of the aftermath (taken from the living room):



Senile Texas Aggie


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## thistlebloom

That sounds like a pretty thrilling afternoon!


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## Bruce

That was maybe a bit TOO thrilling a day!!!! I've only burned in the pit near the house and only twice but I wait for a no to REALLY light wind day. 

Sure is nice you have enough knowledge to figure out the tractor's electrical issues. I wouldn't know where to start. How did the neutral safety switch short and how did you even know to suspect that?


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> How did the neutral safety switch short and how did you even know to suspect that?



The short occurred because the two wires going to and from the neutral safety switch were hanging down bare.  I had twisted the two wires together before starting out, with plans to fix it more permanently when I finished for the day.  Most likely the two wires were pushed up by brush or a tree that I ran over and forced contact with the frame of the tractor (ground), causing the short, which then blew the fuse.  I knew to suspect a fuse because I had done the same thing last year, when I was WAY out from the house over in the overgrown area.  It took a bit of figuring out back then what the problem was, but once I checked the fuses I found one that was blown.  This time I immediately suspected the same problem.  I tried hooking the two wires to the switch, but one of the ears on the connector to the switch had broken off.  So I simply wired the two wires together, taped them well, and put them up in a area that it is harder for brush to reach.  I will need to buy a new neutral safety switch, but for now I know not to start the tractor in gear.

Today I finished picking up brush in the pasture where I was working yesterday.  All that remains is for me to mow around the edges and then I will take some "AFTER" pictures and post those along with the "BEFORE" pictures to give you folks some idea of how different everything looks.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

And spread the cut stuff over on the burned area so no one needs to know about that little fiasco


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I finally finished picking up the brush and trees in the south pasture, and took some "AFTER" pictures.  So here is the north side of the south pasture, before:
  
  

 

After pictures of the north side of the south pasture in the next post...


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

After pictures of the north side of the south pasture.  There are remnants of an old fence along the northern edge which I have yet to remove, so that is why I did not cut out the brush as much as I otherwise would have.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

"BEFORE" pictures of the south side of the south pasture:


----------



## Mike CHS

Looking Great!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

"AFTER" pictures of the south side of the south pasture:


  

"BEFORE" and "AFTER" pictures of the west end of the south pasture (unfortunately from different vantage points):
 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> There are remnants of an old fence along the northern edge which I have yet to remove, so that is why I did not cut out the brush as much as I otherwise would have.


Apparently not as senile as you make out to be


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## Mike CHS

Bruce said:


> Apparently not as senile as you make out to be



I don't think many of us bought that line anyway.


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## Baymule

We only do burn piles after a rain when the wind is flat. A grass fire got away from a neighbor across the road and we beat it with towels to keep the fire from jumping the road into thousands of acres, until the fire department showed up and put it out. I guess I should have run to get the tractor! LOL


----------



## farmerjan

It is looking really nice.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

With rain on the way starting Thursday, I decided to get out the stump bucket to cut channels at points along the driveway to keep the water from flowing down the tire tracks as much.  It started out not too well: I had yet to uncrate the bucket, so I cut and removed the wires holding the bucket to the frame and pallet.  I then tried to pick up the bucket, but the metal frame kept getting in the way (the bucket was sitting on the frame, so I could not remove it by hand). So after failing to pick up the bucket, I decided to remove the frame from around the bucket using the tractor.  In the process, the frame slid up the loader arms and cut a hydraulic line to the right curl piston!  So I had to go get a new hydraulic line and install it.  Once I finally got that done, it was already 10:30.  So I dug out the cutouts along the drive, then decided to clean the small ditches south of the shop.  While I was there, I decided to dig up a small stump -- after all, that is what the implement is designed to do.  It worked well.  By that time it was lunch time, so I went to the house to eat.  Then I noticed something on the bucket that was not good:


I am not sure exactly when I bent the tooth, but I think it happened while I was digging up the stump.  And the bucket I bought was supposed to be a heavy duty kind of bucket!  I guess we'll see how it holds up with a bent tooth.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## thistlebloom

As much as I would have a million uses for a tractor I will just be content with hiring our neighbor to use his over here. I could never keep up with all the maintenance.


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## thistlebloom

SAT, I've been meaning to tell you how much I admire you and your wife's habit of reading together. 
My husband and I do the same, but I could never read aloud for 2 to 3 hours. That's impressive!
45 minutes is about my limit before my voice starts going out.


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## Bruce

That is a serious bummer STA! Not sure how "heavy duty" that bucket is if you managed to bend a tooth. I wonder if it can be bent back where it belongs without just weakening the metal and having it break off.


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## Baymule

It might help for you to have several heavy duty nylon slings for picking up stuff.



			https://www.grainger.com/category/material-handling/rigging-and-lifting-slings/web-slings


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

thistlebloom said:


> SAT, I've been meaning to tell you how much I admire you and your wife's habit of reading together.
> My husband and I do the same, but I could never read aloud for 2 to 3 hours. That's impressive!
> 45 minutes is about my limit before my voice starts going out.
> 
> Thank you, Miss @thistlebloom!  Yes, we do that every night for about 2 hours before going to bed.  I quit posting the book summaries on my journal because I figured I was just boring people, but we still read every night.  We read between 2-3 books a week.





Bruce said:


> That is a serious bummer STA! Not sure how "heavy duty" that bucket is if you managed to bend a tooth. I wonder if it can be bent back where it belongs without just weakening the metal and having it break off.



It does make you wonder.  I did a good bit of search on stump buckets, and that brand had one of the thicker steel plates being used.  I plan on contacting the company to see what they say.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

I always read the summaries.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

HELP!!!  My Beautiful Gal is always telling me that I need professional help, so I hope you folks are just the ones to provide that help.  My driveway is a mess.  It has been needing something done to it for awhile now, but after the 6" of rain we got a week ago last Friday, it is in far worse shape.  I will post some pictures showing you where the worst parts are and see what you folks think.  The first set of pictures is near the creek closer to the gate.  The first two pictures are looking south, the third is of the same area looking north, and some are close-ups of the bad erosion:

  
  

This is the driveway near the house.  It slopes down away from the viewer and slightly to the right:
.

These two pictures are of the roadway that goes from south of the shop into the woods:
 

So what kind of gravel would you folks recommend and why that type versus some other type?

Thanks in advance.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

I have no more practical experience than you do but we've both watched Outdoors With The Morgans and from that I'd say you need a land plane or box scraper and a big load of stone. I'm guessing you might need rippers to break up what is already there if it is as compacted as it seems in the pictures. 

As far as what kind of stone  maybe check some OTWM videos on driveway repair, I know he's mentioned what type he uses. Another possibility would be the people at the stone place, they might have an idea of what type works best in your area.

Could be there are places you can divert incoming water from a big rain to go under or away from the roads to lessen future damage. 

Good Luck!!!!


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## farmerjan

You need to have a side ditch on either or both sides so that the water will not run down the middle or across.  The driveway needs to be graded so that there is a crown in the center of it ( not real high)  but so that all water is diverted from the center to the sides so that it doesn't run down it or across it.  For now, you need something that has both a medium size rock combined with smaller particles so that they will pack better.  But without the diversion to the sides of the drive, it will continue to wash.  My son does alot of that for the state, he has taken all kinds of classes on that stuff so I have been getting a real education on stuff like that.  He said this is the worst time of year to do any grading and that they just fill in what they have to when there is washing because if you properly grade it, you disturb it enough that it won't pack and settle like it should. Then it gets plowed up if we get snow.  I guess because it is subject to more of the inconsistent rain/snow etc.... They will use a grader to clean the ditches on the sides of the roads, pulling it up into the road, and then actually shoveling it up if there is alot of actual dirt.  Otherwise, they then grade the sides up into the center so there is a ridge of gravel/rock/dirt, then take and grade off the center part and then pack it.  You want a gradual slope from the middle to each side so no water lays in the actual road.  That is what makes holes in dirt roads, and the washboard effect, water laying on the surface. 
Basically you are angling the blade of the grader/or the blade on the back of a tractor, so that it is low enough to make a small ditch in the dirt on the side of the driveway, and the part near the center of the driveway is angled up.  this will drag any dirt and gravel back up into the driveway and then if needed you can go down the center after you do both sides to level the top of the ridge of dirt/gravel off a little bit. 
The grass along the sides is higher than the driveway, so the water is not flowing off the drive into the grass, but is rather being diverted down the driveway.  
I am not sure if it is something that you can do yourself, as the shoulders where the grass meets the gravel need to be lower than the driveway.  I'm not talking a big drop off, but at least several inches so the water disperses off into the grass without traveling a distance down the driveway which is what causes it to wash .  If you put some small ditches along the sides, you can put some rock in it so that it will carry the water without washing out.


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## Bruce

Fortunately I don't think STA has to worry much about plowing snow off his driveway. 



farmerjan said:


> Otherwise, they then grade the sides up into the center so there is a ridge of gravel/rock/dirt, then take and grade off the center part and then pack it.


How I wish our town road guys understood that! The run the grader down the road, chew stuff up and spread it back out. But no roller, no packing. The potholes show right up again as people whiz down the road spinning stuff out of the depressions. We are at the top of a rise, people seem to speed up as they come over the crest, the pot holes in front of our house always seem to reshow faster than the ones down the hill. 

Would your son like a nice few days in warm western Arkansas?


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone, for your input on the driveway.



Bruce said:


> Would your son like a nice few days in warm western Arkansas?



I'd love to meet your son, Miss @farmerjan!  Somehow I don't thing his idea of a break would be to travel here!  And at the moment, it's not all that warm -- it was 26°F this morning with a steady breeze -- brrr!

I am currently building another bridge for a ditch.  I started assembling it yesterday but my back got to hurting, so I quit to resume working on it today.  I'll take pictures once it all gets completed.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I started assembling it yesterday but my back got to hurting, so I quit to resume working on it today.


Great that you have the luxury of time and the wisdom to use it!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Yes, it is!  I continued working on the bridge but discovered I was about 3 boards shy of having enough to cover the entire bridge.  A combination of my Aggie I/Q and Jethro Bodine (*) ciphering is what caused it, I guess.  It is bad weather now so I will get the extra boards once it stops sleeting / raining.

Senile Texas Aggie

(*) For those of you too young to know about Jethro Bodine and The Beverly Hillbillies, look for video clips of Jethro doing ciphering.


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## thistlebloom

STA, sorry to hear you are three boards short of a bridge. 



* ( @Senile_Texas_Aggie I hope you aren't offended by my joking around  )


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## B&B Happy goats

Don't  feel bad STA , I'm  three french fries short of a (McDonald's)  happy meal myself ...🥰


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## thistlebloom

Yeah, I've been told I'm half a bubble off of level. Makes life more interesting for my family members! 🤪


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## B&B Happy goats

thistlebloom said:


> Yeah, I've been told I'm half a bubble off of level. Makes life more interesting for my family members! 🤪



So ...we are all related then 😜🤪🙃😝


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## farmerjan

STA,  remember, we only "get after" those we like...... but I have to admit that 3 boards short of a bridge is really good !!!!!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone. for the teasing.  No offense taken -- in fact, I chuckled at the posts.  Yesterday I went and got 5 more boards, even though I think 3 is all I need.  Once it stops raining I will finish the job and then test the bridge out to see if it can handle the weight of my tractor, mower, and a grapple caring 5 railroad cross ties.  (For my next bridge I am planning on building it with only railroad cross ties, and I will need to cross the first bridge to reach the area for the second bridge.)


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## Bruce

Nice to know that not only have you filled out your bridge deficit but gone above and beyond with additional boards. I'm sure they'll find use elsewhere at some point even if they aren't needed for this bridge.


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## Baymule

When we bought this place 5 years ago, I was coming up here working on the house, getting it ready to move into. I would get cross eyed from painting or laying floors, and go take a walk with a trash bag. This place had so much garbage thrown out on it that I filled the car or truck every trip back home (where we had trash service LOL). I mentioned that I was a brick shy of a full load on TEG and when I got home after several days of being up here working, I had a package! It was from Majorcatfish on TEG...…..inside the package was a brick! I laughed until I cried. I was utterly exhausted, worn down from running back and forth to our new place and trying to keep up with both homes. I sure needed that laugh.  I still have that brick.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I thought I'd provide an update on the bridge I was building.  It turned out that 3 boards exactly fit the remaining area of the bridge.  Once I finished it, I decided to test to see if it would hold up to the tractor with having 4 RR cross ties in the grapple.  Here is the result of my test:


As you can see, the first 2x6 broke in two on both sides of the bridge.  I didn't bother to drive up on the bridge any more, since they would have busted as well.  So I decided to take 8 RR cross ties down to where I was planning to put the bridge above.  I got them all placed but I need to fasten them together to be more sturdy.  I forgot to get pictures but I will try to remember once I get the cross ties fastened together.

Here are pictures of the two areas I am building bridges.  The first picture shows where I had partly dug out the ditch, and it is where I placed the cross ties.  The rectangular object across the ditch is the old bridge that was there.  The second picture is of a swampy area before I dug a ditch and where I plan to build another bridge.

 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I decided to test to see if it would hold up to the tractor with having 4 RR cross ties in the grapple.


I would say ... No 
I think you really need a 4x4 or doubled 2x4 directly under where the tractor tires will run. Too much weight for a 1.5" thick board.

You can use the second form of courage in your signature


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,
 I decided to use RR cross ties for the first bridge over a ditch where I was intending using the 2x6x8 bridge I built.  I positioned the cross ties length wise over the ditch and then fastened them together with metal bands and lag bolts.  Here is the final result of the assembly, but before I piled up dirt to serve as ramps on either side, which I did today.



I still have the more southern bridge (or culvert) to build.  In case you folks are wondering where all of this is happening, here is a picture from the tax assessor's web site where the two bridges are located:


Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

That looks like it will hold the weight well. Is there something anchoring the bridge so the tractor doesn't push it as you "climb" on? Or is the dirt approach enough to keep that from happening.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

There currently nothing to anchor the bridge in place.  I am hoping that it will be OK.  If not, then I will probably drive in some rebar to hold it in place.


----------



## High Desert Cowboy

I’d recommend anchoring it.  Some of the most famous last words in history are “Don’t worry, it ain’t goin nowhere!”


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## Bruce

I'd guess it is worth the effort "just in case".


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Since I tied all of the cross ties together using steel bans across the top, then all cross ties would have to move if one of them moved.  Of course, the steel bands could possibly bend, but for the time being I plan to leave everything as is until I start having problems.

Yesterday I took the day off as my Beautiful Gal had an eye doctor appointment.  I didn't see much point in getting dirty only to have to get cleaned up shortly after I started.  Today has a 100% chance of rain so I'll be taking the day off as well.

We have been hearing the frogs along the creek ever since the first week in January, usually at night but sometimes in the morning if it is warm that morning.  I don't ever recall the frogs starting this early before.  Is anyone else hearing the frogs already?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Is anyone else hearing the frogs already?


 
Um, no. Maybe in April


----------



## High Desert Cowboy

No frogs, but I’ll start hearing the toads in my window well come May


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## thistlebloom

Bruce said:


> Um, no. Maybe in April



What, no woolly snow frogs in Vermont?
We have no immediate water source for frogs nearby so we don't ever hear them.


----------



## Bruce

No! I Guess I'll have to import some but they might be considered an invasive species, I'll have to check 

There is a farm pond behind the barn, I had to dig it out in Aug/Sept 2018 (which is when I bought the tractor) during the drought when it went dry. We have lots of spring peepers, bullfrogs and tree frogs spring, summer and fall. At the moment it is frozen over. PRESUMABLY not frozen to the bottom since it is deeper now. The deeper part should be below frost level. But ... we always had frogs every spring, I have to ASSUME it didn't freeze to the bottom even when it was shallower, not sure how that works since our frost level is about 4'. And if the pond was that deep I think it was just barely.


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## thistlebloom

Yes, I read about your pond digging tractor adventures in your journal. Very interesting learning on the job type scenario. You did good!
We have a borrow pit out front that my husband always wanted to turn into a pond. But it's not viewable from anywhere but the driveway and the garden. I'm more practical and turned it into a giant plant debris/compost pit. It's nearly full!


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## Bruce

Yes but a pond you can't see still has benefits! The fish and frogs will eat the mosquito larvae and those plus other insects attract insect eating birds. Our prior home was in a very dense neighborhood with a ravine behind the houses on our side of the street. There is a decent sized brook that runs year round and a lot of flat land to hold puddles. The mosquitoes were AWFUL. Don't even think about going out in the small back yard unless the sun was heating up the yard. I was afraid we would have it even worse out here in the rural area with a pond right behind the barn. We RARELY see a mosquito, the insect eaters take care of them.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I worked on the second bridge today.  Here is the result:



As you can see, I still need to build up a ramp on the side nearest the camera.  Maybe I can get that done tomorrow.  My building the 2 bridges caused me to deeply rut the approaches to them.  Maybe I should have waited until it dried out more.  So now I am trying to decide if I should bring more dirt or perhaps make corduroy ramps where it is so muddy and deeply rutted.  I'll figure something out.  But what do you folks think?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

That is the same problem I have in all the low spots, clay mud, make deep tractor ruts. There is a section I really can't get to no matter how long I wait into the summer. 

How long until it will dry out? I think I'd start with the "stay away until then" if it will dry, then you can just use the bucket to smooth out the ruts. Might want to drop some stone near the approaches?


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I thought I would post since it has been a while since the last one.  I haven't posted because I haven't been doing much -- it's been too wet out in the pastures.  I leave big ruts with the tractor, so I am making things worse when I go out and work.  So I took Mr @Bruce's advice to "stay away till then".  But I do have some things to share.  One is that it snowed here late Wednesday night, so we work up to this in the morning Thursday:


We had a day late last week where it was nice enough to try to work using the Gator and working on foot.  So I focused on this area, starting at point A and making my way to the property boundary at point B.  I had never seen this part of our property and wanted to see what it was like.

Here is what point A looked like, looking toward point B:

Here is what point B looks like, looking west into our neighbor's pasture:


I am now famous, or maybe I should say my tractor is famous.  Google Earth recently updated its picture of our property and the satellite took the picture as I was out burning brush:


Finally, here is a picture of the full moon over Mt. Magazine I took yesterday evening:


Senile Texas Aggie


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## thistlebloom

Congratulations on your snow STA! You are now an honorary Northerner, lol. That's a beautiful view of the moon, and what pretty country too. Is that your land?

It's interesting to see what vehicles are in our driveway from different Google Earth shots. We can date them from when the kids lived here by which car they were driving then.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

thistlebloom said:


> You are now an honorary Northerner, lol.



Thank you, Miss Thistlebloom!



thistlebloom said:


> Is that your land?



We own the land to the edge of the pasture in the picture.  Due east of us is land owned by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.  The three tracts we own make the shape of our land rather unusual.  Here is a satellite picture from the tax appraiser's office of the three tracts we own, outlined in red, along with the surrounding tracts.  The total acreage of the 3 tracts is around 160 acres.


Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> All,
> 
> I worked on the second bridge today.  Here is the result:
> View attachment 69499
> 
> As you can see, I still need to build up a ramp on the side nearest the camera.  Maybe I can get that done tomorrow.  My building the 2 bridges caused me to deeply rut the approaches to them.  Maybe I should have waited until it dried out more.  So now I am trying to decide if I should bring more dirt or perhaps make corduroy ramps where it is so muddy and deeply rutted.  I'll figure something out.  But what do you folks think?
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


Well, you asked for opinions, so here goes. That bridge is going to be an ongoing fix and repair frequently for it's or your lifetime. I'd ditch the timbers and put in a culvert large enough to handle run off from hard rains. I would use bags of cement stacked up around the culvert ends to prevent erosion on the dirt you place over the culvert. Done.

That bridge and timbers look like an ongoing unhappy situation. Better to get a few loads of dirt and place, seat and cover a culvert ONE time and be done with it. At our old property, there was a dry gully that ran through it. Dry until it rained, then it turned into a raging river, it was a pain to deal with. Naturally it cut across the front of the land and cut off access to the rest of it. We put in culverts, those went under water, so not much good. I admired the old underground steel gas tanks that had both ends cut out, but they were $3,000 and upwards. So when I found some for sale in Beaumont, for only $800, 100 miles away, we went right then and paid for one. Then it cost $300 to get it hauled home and dropped. A neighbor had a bulldozer, so we hired him to set it for $1,000 plus some other needed work. It was 7' tall and 24' long. It was huge and handled the raging torrents perfectly. Just for a size comparison, there is my horse walking across it. You don't need one this big, but you get the idea.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks for the suggestion, Miss @Baymule!  I may do something like that.  In fact, I am considering renting a mini excavator for a week to do some work around our property.  Here is the situation for our drainage:


Point A identifies an area that stays boggy a good bit and I would like to deepen the ditch there.  Also, there is a small rise between the ditch and the shop (the white rectangle in the upper left) that currently forces the water draining from the shop area to travel down to and across the road that goes to the picnic area, resulting in erosion of the road.  I would like to cut down that hill and build up the area closer to the shop.

Points B and C identify the two bridges I put in.

Point D identifies an area where water draining down from the ridge to the southwest goes into the pasture, keeping that area wet.  If I could dig a ditch to divert that water to the drainage that goes under bridge B, then that would help keep the pasture dry.  Similarly, there is an area at point E that drains into the pasture.  If I could dig a ditch to cause the water to drain into the ditch that runs under the bridge at point C, then that would help the pasture dry out.

Point F identifies an area where the ditch has filled up with silt and caused a substantial amount of water to go into the pasture to the north (currently used for hay), causing it to erode.  If I could clear out that ditch, then maybe the pasture would stop eroding.

Point G identifies a location when a small ditch drains water from south of that point.  The water then drains into my pasture, keeping that area quite wet.  If I could build up a berm to divert that water onto the Arkansas Game and Fish property, then I could keep the pasture dry.

I could also use the excavator to improve the drainage along the driveway, the way Miss @farmerjan recommended.

If I do rent an excavator, then I could easily install culverts at points C and D where the cross tie bridges are.  The biggest thing holding me back is the cost -- about $1000 for a week.  But it may well be worth it.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

I suspect it would be worth the money if you have all your projects and required materials set up in advance (and plenty of diesel fuel) .... and you can get a request for good weather all that week approved. Assuming you don't have experience with excavators, start with the easy projects so you'll be a semi-pro running the machine when you get to the hard parts.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Sorry that I haven't posted for awhile.  It has been a busy 2 weeks.  I'll now explain what we have been doing during that time.  Rather than posting one long boring post, I will break it up into several short boring posts. 

Mon, Feb 17 - Wed, Feb 19
I finally was able to locate a dozer owner who agreed to redo our driveway to make it better.  He came on Monday and created some drainage ditches next to the driveway on the part coming from the gate down to the creek, as well as the curve on the driveway next to the house.  On Tuesday, I had 3 loads of crushed concrete tailgated on the driveway, and 1 load of recycled asphalt dumped in the parking area.  On Wednesday, I spread the recycled asphalt on the parking area.  Here is what it looked like after I finished:



On Thursday, Feb 20, I didn't do anything as it rained that day.

more in the next posts..


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

On Friday, Feb 21, I decided it was time to rent a mini-excavator, as the area where the water line coming to the house was really wet and had been so for quite some time.  Because we had been having a lot of rain I just figured that was the cause, but finally I decided to dry it out with some sand.  Here is what it looked like after I tried the sand:
.  As you can see, water filled up the tractor ruts.  So Friday, Feb 21, I decided to drive to Conway, AR (1/2 hour one way) and pick up a mini-excavator at Home Depot.  Here is what it looked like once I got home:


Since I had never operated an excavator before and Home Depot provided no instructions, I watched several YouTube videos on how the controls work.  After watching them, I decided to practice on the rise just south of the shop, so I could get familiar with the controls.

more posts...


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

On Sat, Feb 22, I decided that it was time to dig up the water line to see if that was the source of the water that was in the yard.  Here is what the yard looked like before I started to dig:


Because I wasn't exactly sure which way the water line went directly from the control box to the gate, I started on the north side of the box, slowly removing dirt a few inches at a time.  I worked from both the west side (as pictured above) and from the east side.  As I gradually dug, moving steadily from north to south, while working from the east side, the bucket on the excavator caught on a connection on the water line and busted it.  Water came gushing out.  I jumped in the Gator and hurriedly drove to the gate and cut off the water.  Once I no longer needed to worry about busting the water line (after all, it was busted), then I was able to finish digging out the area.  Here is what it looked like after I finished:
 .

Taking the busted pipes with me, I went to Ace Hardware to get replacement parts.  I had to return 2 more times before I managed to get all of the parts.  By the time I finally got all of the parts, got them assembled and glued, it was 5:30 PM.  I then went back to the gate and turned on the water.  The glue failed to hold.  The pipe bowed from the pressure.  Here is what it looked like after I had shut off the water and bailed out most of the water:


Afterward, I read where the glue needed to dry for 2 hours before applying water pressure.  Doh! (hand slapping forehead.)  By then, the stores in Booneville had closed (except for Tractor Supply, which doesn't have much in plumbing supplies).  So we went to bed without being able to take a hot shower, using a wash cloth to remove most of the dirt.

Sunday, Feb 23, I drove to Lowe's in Fort Smith (45 min drive) and bought enough parts to repair the water line 2 more times (just in case the 2nd attempt failed), as well as buying a water shutoff valve so that if the 2nd attempt failed, I could cut off the water near the house without needing to go to the gate.  Here is what the the 2nd repair attempt looked like before I turned on the water.  I let the glue dry for 2 hours this time.


I shut off the water supply line I had installed, went to the gate and turned on the water there.  When I came back, the shutoff valve was holding the water back just fine.  But when I turned on the water at the shutoff valve, the lines failed to hold again, bending as they did with the first repair!  Ugh!  Removing the just replaced parts again, I repaired the line a third time.  But this time I installed a piece of angle iron next to the pipe, attaching it to the pipe with hose clamps, hoping to provide some rigidity.  After waiting 2 more hours for the glue to dry again, I turned on the water at the shutoff valve.  This time, everything held!  Hurray, we had water again.  I did not immediately cover over the pipes, since the temperature was supposed to stay above freezing, and I wanted to ensure there were no leaks.  But we were able to take a hot shower that night!

more posts...


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## B&B Happy goats

Nice job ....definitely  had to be very fustrating  STA,


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## rachels.haven

That sounds like the way a plumbing adventure would go for my husband. I hope you survived it. Cheering for you!


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## farmerjan

Glad to see you back,  I was just realizing that I hadn't seen anything from you for a bit,  although I haven't been on as much since the surgery.  
One thing, some of the bend in the pipe looks like it might have been also from nothing "holding it in place" like the dirt filled in around it so the water pressure had something to "push the pipe against".  One of the drawbacks of pvc /plastic piping.  But I am glad that you finally got it so far.  Did you ever determine if there was any other leaks in it causing all the water logged ground?


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## Bruce

I ASSUME you are using Sched 40 PVC?? Sorry you had all those troubles. The parking area looks good and having plenty of shutoffs in your water lines is like having plenty of gates in your fence.


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## thistlebloom

That wasn't boring at all STA! Yikes, sounds like some of the plumbing repairs we have experienced. Dh likes plumbing the least, which is to say not at all.
Your road work looks good!


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## Mike CHS

I have had more jobs like that than I can remember.  If I want it done right, I have Teresa do it.


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## Bruce

At least you know who to call for those jobs!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

farmerjan said:


> Did you ever determine if there was any other leaks in it causing all the water logged ground?



It appears the repairs I did fixed the leak, as the ground is now drying up.



Bruce said:


> I ASSUME you are using Sched 40 PVC??



Yes, I was.  I think the angle iron gave it enough rigidity to keep the parts from separating.

Mon, Feb 23 - Tue, Feb 24
On Monday, Feb 23, I checked the water lines and did not see any water leaking.  So I covered over the pipes with the excavator, and then went to work clearing out some ditches that I described in earlier posts.  Dummy me forgot to take any pictures except for one.  But here is where I worked, digging trenchs or making existing ditches deeper:




At area A was a pile of dirt about 2 feet high running north/south that looked as if a bulldozer had cleaned out the area just to the west.  Water would stand west of this pile of dirt, keeping the pasture soggy.  I dug a trench through the pile so that the water could drain out.  I intend to add some dirt later to raise the pasture up so that it drains better.

Area B is just west of the road we had built last March that goes into the picnic area south of the shop.  In January we had a rain of 5.5" in 12 hours that made a lot of ruts across that road.  I dug a 2 ft deep trench along the west side to divert the water down to the culvert.

Area C is a place on the path to the deer stand on the west side of our property that often stays boggy, as sediment washing down from the ridge spreads out there.  I dug 2 trenches there so the water can flow better.  I will need to put in 2 culverts there.

Area D is where I cleaned out a lot of sediment from the ditch that flows west to east.  Because the ditch was so shallow there from all of the sediment, water often overflowed out into the pasture to the north, causing erosion.  Now that the ditch is deeper, I am hoping that will stop the erosion for awhile.

Area E is where the ditch crosses underneath one of the 2 cross tie bridges I built.  I cleaned out the sediment from the ditch there.

Area F is where water flowing down from the ridge would spill into the pasture.  I dug a trench so that the water would flow into the ditch at point E.  Here is what it looked like after I finished:


Area G is where I built the second cross tie bridge, so I cleaned out the sediment on either side of the bridge so the water would flow better.  I put the sediment I dug out into the ruts that had formed on either side of the bridge.  Dummy me forgot to pack down the dirt in the ruts, which ended up biting us later (explained in a later post).

Area H is where I dug a trench from an area where the water was flowing into the pasture so that it would flow under the bridge at point G.

Area I is where I dug a trench that would catch the water flowing into the pasture there and divert it to flow under the bridge at point G.

more posts...


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

On Wed Feb 25, I faced a dilemma -- I had cleaned out all of the areas that I knew needed cleaning out and was left with work I could do but wasn't needing to be done right away.  Since I was supposed to return the excavator on Thursday, I decided that I would clean up the excavator and get it put back on the trailer and then be ready to leave first thing Thursday.  That is when my Texas Aggie I/Q made itself known in a BIG way!

First, I started washing the excavator with the power washer.  Partway through the washing, I managed to get the pressure hose against the muffler on the engine and melted the hose, so that water started spraying everywhere!  A 20 minute trip to Tractor Supply and back then followed.  Finally, after 2 tankfuls of gas for the power washer and 2 hours of effort, I got everything clean.

Next, I decided to attach the trailer to the truck.  After getting the truck positioned properly, I lowered the trailer onto the hitch ball, secured the chains, and moved out of the way the blocks I had used to place under the trailer jack.

After getting the trailer hooked up to the truck, I drove the excavator onto the trailer.  As the entire weight of the excavator was placed on the end of the trailer, the trailer tongue came flying up and off of the hitch ball!  I immediately backed of the trailer, so the trailer tongue was now hanging by the safety chains below and to the side of the hitch.  I knew that the trailer had a sticker which said that the hitch ball needed to be 2 5/16" and that I had a 2" ball, but since I had not had any trouble towing it from Home Depot, I figured that the 2" ball would be OK.  Obviously I was wrong.

I had a 2 5/16" hitch ball in the truck which I had purchased back when we planned to go RVing, so I decided to install that in place of the 2" ball.  I started to remove the 2" ball from the hitch that goes into the receiver on the truck.  At first the nut was really hard to turn, but with some silicon spray and a pipe wrench and water pump pliers I was able to get the nut loose.  But as the nut reached the end of the hitch ball bolt shaft, it started getting hard again.  The harder I turned the wrenches the harder it became to turn the nut.  Finally I looked at the end of the hitch ball's bolt.  There was a cotter pin there designed to keep the nut from coming off!  By forcing the nut so tight against the cotter pin, I had managed to bend the cotter pin so that it could not be easily removed!  After much weeping and gnashing of teeth I was able to get the cotter pin out!  But then I discovered that there was another nylon nut holding the ball in place!  Ugh!  Then I happened to remember that I had a larger hitch in the truck to which I could attach the 2 5/16" ball.  I had attempted to remove the 2" ball from the hitch for no good reason!

After putting the 2 5/16" ball on the larger hitch and putting that hitch into the truck's receiver, I was now ready to try to hook up the trailer.  Unfortunately the trailer tongue was so heavy that I could not lift up the tongue at all.  Using the trailer jack, I raised it as high as I could, which was still not high enough for the hitch ball to go under the trailer tongue.  I tried lifting up the trailer tongue using the excavator, but I could not get a good grip on it and the trailer tongue kept sliding off of the excavator.  Finally I got out the tractor and using the front end loader was able to raise up the trailer enough so that the ball would go under the trailer tongue.  Once I did that, I was able to get the trailer hooked up to the truck and get the excavator onto the trailer without any problems.  So from the time I started washing the excavator to the time I finally got the excavator onto the trailer and chained down, it took me 4 hours!

On Thursday, Feb 26 I was able to take back the excavator to Home Depot without mishap.  I took off the remainder of the day.

more posts...


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

On Friday, Feb 27, my Beautiful Gal wanted to see the new driveway and to see where I had dug with the excavator.  So we went on the Gator side-by-side and I showed her what I had done.  When we got to the second bridge (point G in the picture) where I had filled the ruts with dirt, the Gator got stuck in the mud just past the bridge.  With rear differential lock and 4WD I still was unable to get the Gator unstuck.  Because I failed to pack down the dirt with the excavator when I put it there on Monday or Tuesday, it had become really soft, even though it looked dry.  So I had to walk back to the shop and get the tractor and come over and pull out the Gator from that area.

After we finished touring the areas I had worked, we decided to make some logs to build corduroy roads on both sides of the approaches of both bridges.  We spent the rest of the day cutting up the trees I had saved for making a corduroy road and delimbing them.  On Saturday, Feb 29, I cut up some more trees into logs, but because the chain on my chainsaw has stretched out so long that it comes off easily, I decided to quit until I got a new chain.

So that is what we have been up to the past 2 weeks.

One final note -- even though I tried to stay abreast of what was happening on BYH, I was not getting alerts on several of the journals I follow, such as Miss @B&B Happy goats, Miss @farmerjan, Miss @Duckfarmerpa1, and Miss @Larsen Poultry Ranch.  Because of that I had not read of all of the troubles each of you had.  So please know it wasn't because I didn't care but because BYH wasn't notifying me.  But I will try to get caught up on everyone's journal today.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Duckfarmerpa1

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> On Friday, Feb 27, my Beautiful Gal wanted to see the new driveway and to see where I had dug with the excavator.  So we went on the Gator side-by-side and I showed her what I had done.  When we got to the second bridge (point G in the picture) where I had filled the ruts with dirt, the Gator got stuck in the mud just past the bridge.  With rear differential lock and 4WD I still was unable to get the Gator unstuck.  Because I failed to pack down the dirt with the excavator when I put it there on Monday or Tuesday, it had become really soft, even though it looked dry.  So I had to walk back to the shop and get the tractor and come over and pull out the Gator from that area.
> 
> After we finished touring the areas I had worked, we decided to make some logs to build corduroy roads on both sides of the approaches of both bridges.  We spent the rest of the day cutting up the trees I had saved for making a corduroy road and delimbing them.  On Saturday, Feb 29, I cut up some more trees into logs, but because the chain on my chainsaw has stretched out so long that it comes off easily, I decided to quit until I got a new chain.
> 
> So that is what we have been up to the past 2 weeks.
> 
> One final note -- even though I tried to stay abreast of what was happening on BYH, I was not getting alerts on several of the journals I follow, such as Miss @B&B Happy goats, Miss @farmerjan, Miss @Duckfarmerpa1, and Miss @Larsen Poultry Ranch.  Because of that I had not read of all of the troubles each of you had.  So please know it wasn't because I didn't care but because BYH wasn't notifying me.  But I will try to get caught up on everyone's journal today.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


Awww, thanks for reading my journal!!  !!  Better luck next time with the Gator!!  Yikes!


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch

Sounds like you have had an eventful few weeks. I'm glad you are completing projects and your tractor is working again.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

This post will be a long boring one, covering Monday, Mar 02 through Sunday, March 08, so be sure to grab a cup of coffee so you can stay awake! 

My wife's next older sister Treasa and her husband James came last Monday and stayed until Saturday morning.  James helped me do some work around the homestead.  (Unfortunately dummy me forgot to take pictures except for one time.)  On Monday we went to Booneville where I bought 3 10-foot sections of 6" well casing.  I cut off 4 pieces of about 1 foot in length to place over the valves and pressure regulators in order to raise up the round covers I bought.  The covers were about 6" too short and would quickly be covered in dirt, but with the well casing I was able to raise them up about 6" to be at ground level.  We used the other 2 sections to place in trenches I had dug across the path to the deer stand, where it often stayed boggy.  We then covered over the pipes with dirt.

On Tuesday we gathered some trees to cut into 8'-10' lengths and delimbed them in order to make a corduroy road on the approach to the first cross tie bridge I built.  It had gotten muddy there and the tractor ruts had gotten deep, so I knew something needed to be done. 

On Wednesday we built the corduroy road on the north end of the bridge.  First we laid down the trees across the road.  Next, we placed the limbs across the trees.  Even though I was supposed to put dirt on top of the limbs, I didn't do that as I did not have any dirt readily available there.  Here is a picture of the result:


After driving over the road with both the Gator and the tractor, I am VERY disappointed with the result, as it is VERY bumpy.  Either I will need to add dirt to the top of the corduroy road, or I will simply remove it and put down enough dirt to build up the road and hope it does not develop ruts as badly as it had.

On Thursday I decided to use the wood chipper and make wood chips for the south end of the bridge.  We gathered up a lot of branches and trees and piled them up near the bridge, and then by directing the chute on the chipper towards the bridge, we chopped up enough of the wood chips to fill the first 5' or so of the ruts, stopping when we ran out of trees in the brush pile.  Later that day when we got back to the house I saw where Mike Morgan on the YouTube channel Outdoors with the Morgans had gotten a wood chipper to use.  I read a good bit of the comments to the video and several of them advised Mike not to put down any wood chips on the trails in the woods, primarily on the slopes, as the chips would make the trail muddy and keep it wet.  Huh?  I thought the opposite would happen.  We'll see if I screwed up by putting the wood chips down on the south end of the bridge.

On Friday I decided to burn some brush, as earlier I had done a lot of cutting down trees that lined the pastures.  We managed to burn 2 brush piles.  Then I decided to cut down two dead trees that were next to the bridge where we put the corduroy road, as well as a third dead tree along the south side of the northern most pasture that was along the creek.  It had a limb way up that I was afraid would break off at any moment, so I wanted that tree down as well.  So we cut down those trees without any problems.

Since there was still plenty of daylight left, I swapped the grapple for the tree shear, and we went back to the overgrown pasture south of the bridge where we built the corduroy road to cut down or trim cedar trees.  I had James drive the tractor with the tree shear on it, while I cut down or trimmed cedar trees with a pole saw.  Finally, we quit for the day.

On Saturday after they left to go home, I decided to go back to that pasture and continue cutting down cedar trees, since I still had the tree shear on the tractor.  I decided to focus along the ditch, moving from the bridge at the west end of the ditch to the east end.  I was almost at the east end of the ditch when I noticed smoke coming from the direction of the brush pile that we had burned yesterday.  When I got closer, I noticed that the fire was in the grove of trees and brush along the ditch next to the brush pile.  Somehow a spark had blown from the brush pile earlier that morning and had caught the brush on fire.  So I went around to the other side of the ditch where the fire was and began trying to put out the fire with the shredder on the mower.  This worked for the most part, but there were a few stubborn places that wouldn't go out.  I went to the house and got my Beautiful Gal, who came down in the Gator with shovels and hoes and other tools, and we worked on putting out the fire together.  We managed to get the fire out except for a rotten stump (about 3 feet tall) that had caught on fire and we couldn't get the fire out.  So I went back to the shop and got 2 5-gallon buckets of water and poured the water on the stump, putting out the fire (or so we thought).

About 6 PM, we went out to the porch to drink some decaffeinated coffee before starting our reading.  When we got out there, we noticed a LOT of smoke in the air.  It seemed to be coming from where the stump was.  "Oh, no!  The stump had started burning again and this time the fire has gotten really big!"  We had already taken showers and were in our pajamas when we decided to go back to that area.  This time I decided to put the tank sprayer in the Gator and filled it half full of water (~20 gals), and then we took off over to where the stump was.  Much to our surprise and relief, the stump was not burning, nor were the woods or pasture on fire.  We drove around our property to ensure no fires were burning.  We finally decided that someone else was burning some brush somewhere over the ridge behind our house and that was what was causing all of the smoke!

On Sunday I decided to build up the path in the pasture next to the woods just south of our house.  I did OK, but the dirt was a bit too wet to pack it down level, so I will finish another day.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## thistlebloom

Sounds like you got a lot done last week! It's always handy when you have house guests to make them earn their supper, remind them that there is no free lunch either!  😄 Just kidding, I'm sure they enjoyed helping and visiting.
       When my sister comes she scopes out all the big projects and goads us into working on them. I'm not sure her husband is crazy about this bad habit of hers, but he's a nice guy and goes along with it, haha. 

That fire was kind of scary, glad you got it out and didn't end up having to do battle in your pj's.


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## Duckfarmerpa1

Yes...very glad the smoke was a false alarm. Hope you get the corduroy path figured out the way you want it. And perhaps you can sit a bit and enjoy another break😀👍


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

It has been raining here quite a bit, with rain in the NWS forecast through Friday, Mar 20, with a small break tomorrow afternoon.  But there was a break in the rain on Thursday, so I decided to try to dig a trench between two wet weather creeks to divert the water from one creek to the other.  Here is the area with the two creeks (in red) and the trench I dug (in yellow):


The creek to the north currently drains into the pasture and keeps that area really wet for quite a while.  The creek to the south flows through the woods until it exits the woods at the east end.  I decided to dig a trench with the stump bucket on the tractor between the two creeks, attempting to divert the water from the north creek into the south creek.  Here is a view of the area before I dug the trench, the first looking northwest and the second looking southeast toward where the first picture was taken:
 

Here is a view looking southeast after I dug the trench.  I piled dirt just to the left of the trench in the north creek to divert the water into the trench.  The trench is not nearly as good as what the excavator would have done, but while I had the excavator I could not figure out how to get into that area.  I finally saw a way AFTER I returned the excavator (hand slapping forehead):


I plan to check on it tomorrow during the break in the rain to see if the water is flowing through the trench or washed out the pile of dirt I put there and is still flowing into the pasture on the north side.

Nothing else happening here at the homestead.  I hope all of you have a wonderful day!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

You are making slow but steady progress,  and learning alot in the process. It is really looking good.
 How is the corona virus situation affecting things out there?


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## Baymule

I had to laugh at the trailer ball incident. We got a 3-way with a locking pin to hold it in place. It's much easier to turn it one way or another to put the right hitch size up. 

You have been really busy! I have missed your posts, yours is one I don't get notifications for and finally I went looking for it. Good for you renting the excavator. That did a lot of work for you. Plumbing. I have cut off valves for every faucet. They are a life saver. Got a problem, no problem, just use the cut off valve. Your place is shaping up, all your work is showing!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

farmerjan said:


> How is the corona virus situation affecting things out there?



Last account I had, Arkansas has yet to report a case.  I am not sure if the schools are still open or not.  We shopped for groceries on Friday and a good bit of items were sold out -- toilet paper, bottled water, Cokes -- but other items were still plentiful.



Baymule said:


> Your place is shaping up, all your work is showing!



Thank you, Miss @Baymule!  Yes, the trailer hitch incident was amusing, although at the time it was more frustrating than amusing.  We are trying to get the place in shape, but all of the rain we have been getting has slowed down the pace of work.  It doesn't take long for the ground to get torn up if I am working in a particular area.  Once it dries out, then I will be able to get more work done.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Yesterday morning I went over to where I dug the trench to see if it worked.  It almost did!  Water had built up behind the dam I built, but was not flowing through the trench, even though it had water in it.  There were a couple of places where I had failed to dig the trench deep enough, but about 30 minutes of shoveling in the trench made it deep enough to allow the water to flow.  I also added more dirt to the dam to stop the water from flowing under the dam.  It appeared to work after the shoveling.  I will check again soon. Alas, no pictures. 

While I was there, I decided to check on the trenches I dug with the excavator to see if they were diverting the water away from flowing into the pastures to instead flow into the existing ditches.  They were all working.  So maybe the pastures will dry up sooner once it stops raining.

Now for some needed ideas.  What do you folks propose that I do with all of the water flowing into the pasture out of the woods?  Here is the area I am talking about:



The north yellow line is the drainage area for the wet weather creek (ditch) where I dug the trench mentioned above.  The south yellow line is the drainage area for the pond in the picture which currently seeps water, enough to keep the pasture wet except when the pond is low.  I am not sure what to do to help dry out the pastures.  I know I could dig trenches with the stump bucket to drain the water, but I don't know if I should leave them open and just need to maneuver around them when on the tractor or Gator, or if I should lay drainage pipe in the trenches and then cover them, or maybe just live with the wetness.

What do you folks think is best?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> The south yellow line is the drainage area for the pond in the picture which currently seeps water, enough to keep the pasture wet except when the pond is low. I am not sure what to do to help dry out the pastures.


Let me know when you figure that out  The area between my farm pond and the natural wetland is pretty much always wet (as in 6"+ deep ruts from the tractor if I drive through it) unless we are having a drought. And it is wet well above that low area because of the clay soil, the water just doesn't drain down hill through clay.


----------



## thistlebloom

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> What do you folks propose that I do with all of the water flowing into the pasture out of the woods?



My first thought was that it might make a nice income for you these days if you bottled it.

Sorry, no useful ideas for your water flow otherwise.


----------



## Baymule

Dig your trenches and lay in a culvert or two, cover with dirt, so you can drive over it.


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch

Are you allowed to make a pond? You could dig down to make the base of where you want the pond and then put trenches with French drains leading from the wet areas to the pond. If you make the pond deep I bet you could stock it with fish and then you'd have a fishing spot too.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Larsen Poultry Ranch,

As far as I know, there are no restrictions on my building a pond.  I currently don't have any heavy equipment to dig with.  I do have a tractor and several implements that will dig, including a box blade and a stump bucket.  But a farmer member of the forum, Greybeard, told of one of his relatives (his father, I think), having dug a pond using nothing more than a tractor and a box blade.  I will give some thought.  Thank you for the suggestion.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Not much going on here due to all of the rain.  There was a brief break in the rain yesterday, so I went to see how trench I dug was holding up.  It was working fine, with no leaks in the dam I built to divert the water into the trench:


All of the other trenches I built to divert the water are working as well.  So maybe most of the pastures will dry out sooner once it stops raining.

What do you folks know about Greg Judy and his regenerative ranching methods?  I have started watching his YouTube channel to see what I can learn, and he seems to have some interesting ideas.  But I would like to hear from the folks here on the forum, as y'all know a lot more than I do.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

I've seen a bit of what he does but of course have no experience. But it makes sense to me.


----------



## Mike CHS

He is one of the first names mentioned on the topic.  Another farmer that I know more about since I have met him several times and gone on Pasture Walks that he participates in.  He farms in Kentucky using similar methods as Mr. Judy and he works for NACD which has some good publications for reference.  They also have a weekly eResource that you can subscribe to.









						Greg Brann - NACD
					

Greg Brann Trousdale County Soil Conservation District Greeneville, Tennessee Greg Brann, a second-generation farmer, owns and operates Big Spring Farm. His operation consists of 220 acres in Allen County, Ky., and 108 acres of rented pasture in Trousdale County, Tenn. Brann practices diversity...




					www.nacdnet.org


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mike CHS said:


> Another farmer that I know more about since I have met him several times and gone on Pasture Walks that he participates in.



Thanks, Mr. @Mike CHS, I'll have to look him up.

We had a bit of weather excitement late yesterday afternoon and early evening -- three tornado warnings!  The first one turned out to be near Forth Smith, so not affecting us directly.  The other two warnings were for our area.  One of them was reported to be only a few miles away.  When we tried to find out more, our internet connections (namely our cell phones) were incredibly slow.  It was only after the danger had passed that we found out it was near us.  To make it even more fun, our house really has no safe place to hide in, as it is built on a pier (sp?) and beam foundation.  Our shop is a steel framed barn with no place to hide, either.  So we just hunkered down and hoped it would not hit our house.  The wind blew hard for just a brief period but that was it.  So we survived unscathed.

I have been sitting here watching YouTube videos for a while now, going out on occasion.  I hate to drive the tractor anywhere to speak of, as it tears up the pastures and makes even deeper ruts around the bridges.  So maybe I can learn something useful while sitting on my behind! 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Can you build a storm shelter or a safe room ?


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

B&B Happy goats said:


> Can you build a storm shelter or a safe room ?



Yes.  There is a place in town that sells them (and presumably installs them).  I have yet to price them.  I doubt our house would be where we could install the safe room, but we may could install it in the shop or perhaps dig an underground shelter.  Has anyone on the forum had one installed, and if so, what kind of shelter and at what cost?


----------



## Bruce

I believe had an underground shelter put it. I know you can buy prefab ones that you just stick in a prepared hole. I'd sure have one if I lived where tornadoes are common.


----------



## Ridgetop

Finally found my way back to STA's journal!  I don't get notices from the journals I have tagged as "follow" for some reason.  

I was dying with laughter reading about your doings with the trailer and then the plumbing disasters.  I dragged DH in from the TV to read it to him.  We were both laughing hard.  Are you sure you are not a long lost relative of the Ridgetop clan?  

You have done so much on your place I am amazed.  You have come a long way from the fellow and his Beautiful Gal who retired to the farm with a string Weed Whacker and a manual Hedge Trimmer!  LOL  We have sure enjoyed the learning experiences with you.  

Going back I saw some names I have been missing.  Latestarter being one, and also Greybeard. Has anyone heard from Greybeard on the cattle forums?  He was cranky but I liked him.  He was very knowledgeable and shared his knowledge with everyone.  Remember the whole tractor lesson with everyone on STA's journal?  I learned a lot.  I am no longer allowed to drive the little tractor since it spooked and threw me as it ran away into the fence!  LOL

Can't wait to see what else you do to the place.  Maybe you could channel the runoff water into a tank for summer use?


----------



## farmerjan

Greybeard is doing okay.  Normal worries as his sister has health concerns and his wife also.  They are pretty much "laying low" for the duration.  He posts on CATTLE TODAY and  cattleforumtoday.   As so many on both of them are also "older folks" there is concern for each other as to how things are going, but so far no one is reporting any real problems.  One member lost his wife, she got the flu, then he got the flu and he has a compromised immune system, was barred from going to the hospital to visit her, after  she wound up in the hospital and had pneumonia and passed away but it was not corona..... Again, very sad, but also in the over 70 age range.


----------



## Duckfarmerpa1

Larsen Poultry Ranch said:


> Are you allowed to make a pond? You could dig down to make the base of where you want the pond and then put trenches with French drains leading from the wet areas to the pond. If you make the pond deep I bet you could stock it with fish and then you'd have a fishing spot too.


For ducks!!!❤️🦆


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> I know you can buy prefab ones that you just stick in a prepared hole.



I have considered it but never have bothered to look into installing one.  For almost our entire adult lives, we have resided in the Southern US, where tornadoes are just a fact of life.  I guess I have developed the mindset that tornadoes are what happens to other people.  So far I have been right, but it may only be a matter of time.  For one year we resided in Oceanside, CA.  It was funny to listen to native CAers say they could not understand why anyone would reside where tornadoes happen, such as Texas.  In Texas and the other southern states, people would shake their heads at CAers, living with wild fires, earthquakes, mudslides, etc.  So I guess it is the case of better the devil you do know than the devil you don't.



Ridgetop said:


> We were both laughing hard.



Glad you both got a good laugh!  I post on my journal as much to show people how not to do something as anything!



farmerjan said:


> Greybeard is doing okay.



I'm glad to hear he's OK.  I've been wondering how he is doing.  I miss him.



Duckfarmerpa1 said:


> For ducks!!!❤🦆



We've considered it.  But the ducks we would get would need to fend for themselves, as both of the two ponds are not close to the house, and we would not be able to protect them from predators.  We have some wild ducks currently visiting the pond closer to our house.  But they left in mid-May last year and didn't return until early January.  We have yet to figure out how to attract them to stay year round.

Yesterday I drove around the farm on the Gator to see how it held up from all of the rain we got shortly after the tornado warnings.  The road to the picnic area got washed over with some erosion.  I am going to have to build up that road a good bit higher and dig a trench along the upside slope to handle the runoff we get from a heavy rain.  One of the culverts on the deer stand road stopped up with sediment and so the water ran over the path.  I am going to have to build up that road as well as possibly put in a second or larger culvert.  The dam I built in the creek to divert the water into the trench got washed out.  I feared it might, since it was a bit low on one side.  I will have to build the dam taller next time.  The ground is so waterlogged at the moment that I would tear up the pastures with my tractor, so I am hoping it will stop raining long enough to dry out the pastures soon.  I have about run out of YouTube videos to watch!

Now a request from everyone.  We just finished reading a book about Greta Thunberg and her family.  I am now considering reading about climate change.  I am asking for recommendations from you folks.  I want to read books from climate change advocates as well as climate change skeptics.  The only stipulation I make is that the books I read must stick to the facts.  I refuse to read a book that spends its time using name-calling toward those who disagree.  I don't want to read about "ignorant rednecks" from those supporting climate change, or "libtards" from those who are skeptical of climate change.  I refuse to have a discussion with someone who uses those tactics, so I don't want to read a book that uses those tactics.  I have better ways to spend my time than to read those hateful comments.  So please make any suggestions of books you think would enlighten me.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## B&B Happy goats

I don't  have any recommendations,...  but I  love your attitude about what you read


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Not much going on here.  Yesterday morning I decided that it was dry enough in the pastures that I could move some dirt to build up around the bridges and build up the road to the picnic area.  Imagine my consternation when as I positioned to remove the grapple prior to putting on the bucket that I noticed hydraulic fluid coming out of the right curl cylinder of the front end loader.  It wasn't just an occasional drip but a steady stream.  Rats!  So I called Alma tractor to see if they were still open -- they were.  Then I decided to see if I could remove the hydraulic cylinder and take that to the dealer instead of taking the entire tractor the way I had done in the past.  After all, how hard could it be to remove a cylinder?

After I got the hydraulic lines removed, I removed the retaining bolt on the end of the shaft on which the hydraulic cylinder rotates.  But then I couldn't figure out how to the remove the shaft itself.  After an hour of trying to remove it, I finally came in and watched some YouTube videos about removing hydraulic cylinders.  Not a single one seemed to fit what I had on my tractor.  So I went back out and tried again.  This time I decided to remove the other shaft that was connected by a support to the shaft I was trying to remove, just to see if that would help.  It worked.  It turned out that the shaft that supported the hydraulic cylinder was welded to the bracket that went to the other shaft.  I was able to remove the bracket and both shafts and then remove the hydraulic cylinder.  I then took the cylinder to the tractor dealer to be repaired.  The removal of the hydraulic cylinder took about 2 hours, and the drive there and back took about 3 hours, so most of the day was wasted doing that.  So I didn't get anything accomplished around the homestead.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

I guess that the seal on the cylinder went? I hope I won't have that problem for a long time, but as Greybeard said, If you have a tractor you will have hydraulic leaks.

Tough job but you got it done! I wonder if there is any way to tell if the cylinder on the other side is likely to have the same problem soon. Kind of like headlights, they work at the same time so when one fails you can bet the other will soon.


----------



## High Desert Cowboy

At least you caught the leak before you got to doing something with it!


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## Ridgetop

With this quarantine it was nice you had a way to fill the empty hours!


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## B&B Happy goats

Hey STA are you ok from yesterday's tornado's  ?


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

B&B Happy goats said:


> Hey STA are you ok from yesterday's tornado's ?



We're fine.  We had a short period of heavy rain, along with some lightning, but nothing bad.  The really bad weather was to the north and northeast of us.  I have not read the news reports yet but I hope there wasn't much damage and no injuries or deaths from the tornadoes and strong winds.

Thank you for asking about us.  

Senile Texas Aggie


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## B&B Happy goats

Happy to hear you didn't  have any damage and are fine , I had forgotten what part of the state you located in ......stay safe and healthy


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## Bruce

Now you get to go out and check your water diversion work again. Only way to make it work right is get rain running through and reworking any areas that didn't hold up.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

The water diversion held up and is diverting the water to the other wet weather creek.  The pasture where it previously drained is still wet but I hope that will dry up eventually.  One the other hand, the pipes that run under the deer stand trail clogged up with leaves and sediment.  I may need to either install a larger pipe or perhaps install several more smaller pipes.


----------



## Bruce

Great news on the diverters! Is there any way to put something like a piece of cattle panel a few feet in front of the culvert to snag those sticks? I'm envisioning something where there would be a gap on either side that the water could go around the panel and down the culvert. Of course some sticks would still get around but maybe the ones big enough to get stuck in the culvert would be held back by the panel. If the stream is deep enough, maybe the sticks and leaves will get caught up top and the water could run through the panel under them.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Is there any way to put something like a piece of cattle panel a few feet in front of the culvert to snag those sticks?



I don't have a cattle panel but I have something that might work -- a steel grate that came with the house when we bought it.  I cut off a piece of the grate to serve as a brush guard for my tractor.  It worked like a champ.

This morning I went to Alma Tractor to pick up the hydraulic cylinder for the tractor.  I installed it this afternoon and it worked just fine.  So tomorrow I will be able to do some tractoring (although I expect to do mowing the yard instead).  I am glad the tractor is back together.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce




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## B&B Happy goats

just stopping by to say hello STA


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## rachels.haven

Yeah! Are you staying busy?


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## Ridgetop

Looking forward to your next adventure!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, all.  I will post a longer one later today, but as a teaser, let's just say that the next edition of Webster's dictionary will have my picture beside the word "idiot".  Stay tuned...


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

OK, I wanted to assess the damage and then get an estimate to repair it before I told everyone what has happened.  I have ruined my tractor engine!  And here is the idiot part -- I did so all while the tractor was trying to tell me something was wrong.  You see, a few days ago I was cutting down cedar trees in the overgrown southernmost area using my tree shear.  It took me two days to do so.  On the second day I managed to snag the oil dipstick tube, bending it, although I did not know it at the time, and causing it to leak.  Yesterday morning, I noticed oil on the shop floor.  While it was more than just a little drip, it wasn't a lot.  I thought that I would check out the leak when I got back to the shop.

I then removed the tree shear and installed the grapple to go over and pick up the cedar trees I had cut down.  On the way over to the area, I noticed a light on the console came on, and then went off.  I thought, "I wonder what that light means?"  While I was working, picking up the trees, it came on and went off several more times.  Somehow I got it in my head that the light indicated when the tractor engine was running or not.  Obviously the engine was running, so dummy me thought that I may have loosened some wires while going into the brush to cut cedar trees.  I worked till around noon and then went back to the shop.  As I was backing in, the engine started knocking really badly.

I went in and had lunch and then read the owner's manual to see what that light indicated.  It turned out that it was the oil pressure indicator light!  I mistakenly thought the oil pressure light was on the left side of the dashboard.  I had been running the engine without oil pressure for almost two hours!  I was physically ill, thinking that I had needlessly ruined an engine, all while the tractor was trying to tell me something was wrong.  I was too ill to go back out to the shop yesterday to look it over, so I waited until this morning.

This morning, after posting the earlier post above, I went to the shop, put more oil in the engine, started it and checked for leaks.  The engine was no longer knocking, no smoke came out the exhaust pipe, and there were no leaks.  In fact, the engine sounded fine.  I thought that perhaps the Mobil 1 I had put in the tractor had protected it from damage.  (Ever since the mid-1980's I have used Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil in all of my 4 cycle engines, from cars and truck to lawn mowers.)  So I decided to take out the tractor, this time to a place closer to the house.  It ran fine for about 15-20 minutes, then the knocking came back, this time much worse than the day before.  I limped at engine idle back almost to the house, but finally stopped the engine just a little ways from the house, as the knocking had gotten so bad.  I then pulled the tractor with the truck back to the parking area.

Next, I called Alma tractor and told them the problem and asked for an estimate to repair it.  At first they were reluctant to provide the estimate, asking if I could bring it in for them to look at.  I didn't want to take it over there only to find out it was going to cost more that the tractor was worth.  I asked them to price the most expensive option, which I figured was a new engine, plus installation.  After 2 hours they called back later and shared the news with me.  First, no new or rebuilt engine was available for that tractor any more.  Secondly, even if it only required replacing the main bearings, rod bearings, piston rings, etc., it was going to cost 10-15K parts and labor!  I said no thanks, and asked that one of their sales reps call me to discuss buying a new tractor.

I can't believe I was so bone-headed to be so ignorant to think that the oil pressure light was on the left side of the console and that I could ignore whatever that other light (the REAL oil pressure light) was indicating.  Now I have the chore of trying to locate another tractor and needlessly paying a lot of money, all because I ignored the indicator light because I thought I had work to do.

A very sad and dumb Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Don't  beat yourself up STA, we ALL mess up, you will know better next time


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## farmerjan

It happens.  Especially since you did not grow up with family that did mechanical work, so you had no real practical knowledge of that sort of stuff.  But the first thing my son said to me was if I was going to try to start the mower, was to check the oil before I did anything.  Now, I grew up with a father that did alot of his own mechanical work,  and have helped my son on a multitude of mechanical repair stuff,  but he made sure that he reminded me to check the oil.
Yes it is going to be an expensive repair, and maybe might have to be a replacement...... but do some looking and digging around the internet for companies that deal with your brand before you just give up the ghost.   We managed to find a local Mennonite farmer that does repairs here that has done wonderful work on some of our stuff, that we were about ready to just consign to the scrap metal heap.  Then we found another guy up in Pa that dealt with only one brand of tractor of which we have only 1 (Deutz) and has been a godsend for getting parts off of.

Sorry for your hard luck.... but you will probably be VERY careful now to have a specific routine to check certain fluids, and to know that if a light comes on.... exactly what it is for and if it is SERIOUS.....


----------



## thistlebloom

I'm so sorry STA. I can sure relate to that sick feeling after doing something I didn't think through.


----------



## Bruce

My heart weeps for you STA!!! I don't know enough about engines to know just how bad it can be but I like Jan's idea of checking around to see if there are any independent diesel mechanics around who could maybe fix it cheaper. I know my dealer charges $110/hr for labor.

And if you do have to replace it, can you pull off the 3rd function and hydraulic top link parts for the next tractor? And what tractor brands are around? You'll want to shop and compare machines. If there is an RK dealer nearby Mike Morgan's experience with that brand has been quite good and he works his tractors way more than the average "non professional tractor user".


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## Ridgetop

*You loved that tractor!* 

Just like your first love, car, and good dog, your first tractor will never be forgotten. This is a very sad day for us all.  How will we get more wonderful stories as you blithely run over equipment on the way to do some chore?  This is a devastating blow for us all.  

However, now you know what you need and really want so if you have to buy a new one, you will be ready to ignore snazzy paint jobs, stereo radios, etc. and concentrate on the important things - a talking oil light!  

And know that your friends here at BYH will be with you every step of the way in selecting your new tractor, with contradictory advice, choices only good on our own properties for our own situations, and love in our hearts.  

Even if you buy a new tractor, follow Farmerjan's advice and look around for someone who can repair your old tractor. Go on line and look for that brand of tractor and maybe you can find someone with a tractor that has a good engine but otherwise Is unusable.  If you can find that you (or someone) can repair the old tractor.   Or sometimes other brands might have engines that can be interchanged.     

If you can get the old tractor repaired after you get a new tractor you will have a backup tractor for emergencies.  Remember - the only thing better than a good tractor is 2 good tractors!    

Seriously, this was an expensive loss, and I really have sympathy pains for you.  Hopefully you can afford another tractor.  With this virus cutting into sales, maybe you can get a good deal from the tractor dealership on one.  Do they sell used tractors?  Can you get one that can take all your different attachments so you don't have to  replace all those items too?  I sure hope everything works out for you.  Loss of equipment or stock is one of the losses that ranchers and farmers hope not to experience.  Really sorry.


----------



## Ridgetop

Just had a thought based on what Bruce posted!  If you can get parts, check with the local high school or FFa or 4-H to see if they have a group that are doing work on old engines, etc.  Sometimes the local high school has an auto shop that will take the vehicle in and work on it as part of their curriculum.  You can give a donation to the school if they don't charge you, and it is a win win for all of you..


----------



## Ridgetop

What is happening with your tractor search?  repairs?  You need to get back in the saddle again!


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## Bruce

AND keep us informed!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I am still looking for a tractor.  Early in the search I looked for the same model of tractor I have (New Holland TC48DA) with the idea of perhaps removing the engine and putting into my current tractor.  But the prices on the 3 tractors for sale were too high, plus I don't have the equipment required, such as an engine hoist, to do such work.  So I have broadened my search and have found some possibilities but nothing for sure.  I wish there were something akin to Consumer Reports' guide to buying used cars, where they post reliability issues.  I would hate to buy a tractor model that had a bunch of reliability issues with it.  Maybe I should check out the different tractor forums for the models I am interested in.  I will let everyone know once I have found another tractor.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## farmerjan

Whatever you look at, make sure it is compatible with the implements you have also.  Not everything is interchangeable between different makes and models.  I am thinking there is a tractor "reliability guide" or something like that.... will have to ask my son....


----------



## Bruce

Have you given up on finding someone who can rebuild the engine? If the rest of the machine is in good shape that would be cheaper than buying someone else's used tractor with a engine in an unknown state. I looked at the specs on it, pretty powerful machine


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Have you given up on finding someone who can rebuild the engine?



The only folks I talked to, Mr. @Bruce, were the ones at the Alma New Holland dealer, where I had been having my work done.  They estimated $10K-$15K to repair, and there was one condition they said that if the engine suffered from then it could not be repaired at all.  That estimate made me think that perhaps buying another tractor made more sense.



farmerjan said:


> I am thinking there is a tractor "reliability guide" or something like that.... will have to ask my son....



 If you do find such a guide, Miss @farmerjan, please let me know, as I would hate to buy a model that was known for, say, transmission problems.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Good luck to you STA with the tractor decisions,  $10 to $15 k is a hard financial  hit to take , you are wise doing your research first


----------



## CntryBoy777

STA....something else ya might try is to find an equipment auction sales in your "neck of the woods" and ya may can work a .ore palatable deal with them. They will offer ya a trade for yours....I traded an unfixable kubota to one for the riding mower that I use now....it was used and has ran good since I got it 4yrs ago....may be worth a try....🤔


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I would like to get your opinions on two different topics.

The first topic is tractor related.  What is the best way to find out what tractor models are reliable or not reliable?  I have yet to find a website dedicated to rating the reliability of tractors by make and model.  I have been checking YouTube and tractorbynet to see the different owner experiences, but I am also considering visiting dealer service departments and talking to the service managers on what models to buy and what to avoid.  I once did that with a Ford dealership when i was considering buying a Ford diesel truck many years ago, and the service manager was refreshingly honest.  He called the diesel engines sold back then as money pits.  (Ford has since then fixed the problems with their diesel engines.)  I am hoping that the service managers will be honest with me as well, but then again they may have a conflict of interest -- they don't want to talk trash about the tractors the dealership sells.

The second topic is when to take social security.  Back when I retired at 65, I read an article which advised delaying taking social security for the primary beneficiary until 70, while the spouse starts taking social security at 62.  I did the analysis then and it agreed with the article if I lived past 80 or so, and it definitely helped my Beautiful Gal, who is 5 years younger than I.  But now I am thinking that perhaps I would be better off taking benefits now, rather than waiting.  My reasoning has more to do with the politicians screwing around with social security than my life expectancy.  (After all, the Bible is often quoted as saying that the righteous die young(*) so I know I will live to a ripe old age!)  I fear that the politicians will gut the social security benefits so that I will never reach the crossover point.  Maybe I should remember Mark Twain's response to false reports of his death -- "Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated" -- and think my fears regarding social security are unfounded.

So what opinions / insights can you folks provide me?

Senile Texas Aggie

(*) KJV Ecclesiates 7:15-17 "15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness. 16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? 17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?"


----------



## CntryBoy777

I posed the question on google and took a screenshot...hopefully it will help ya find what ya are looking for....it looks like a forum that ya could receive direction, if not an answer to your question.....



As far as SS goes....a bird in the hand is worth more than 2 in the bush....imo....nobody knows at what point things will change or life will end....if it changes, then ya stand a better chance of being on the proper side of the door....to be "grandfathered" into whatever it changes to....but, if  ya aren't, then getting thru the door may be futile....if nothing changes, and ya wait, the "demise" could come shortly after and ya would have been cheated from enjoying your $$ while still breathing.....life is always a "gamble" and we are All losers at some point, from 1 reason or another.....


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## farmerjan

I debated about SS when I was getting to medicare eligibility.  Talked to several people.  First off I don't know what you made at your work so don't know what you would be eligible for.  So I am basing this loosely on mine.  I never made alot of money.  BUT, when I made the appt at the SS office, they gave me a chart that showed what I would get for each month after 62.5 that I waited for taking SS.  I was at 64 1/2 then.  The amount that increases by month for me was only about $5 month for each month I waited.  $60 m/l  per year.  I waited for 65 and 3 months because it coincided with when I was going on medicare and losing my full time benefits at work.... PLUS by waiting to the "year" that I turned 66 I was eligible for the increased allowed income to get my full benefit of SS.  17,000 per year as opposed to 42,000 per year on the year I turned 66 (full retirement age) for allowable income before a decrease in SS received.
Another tester and I had some involved discussions as she had talked to her financial advisor and she told her to take it at 62 1/2.  It is figured that it takes from 7-12 years to come out equal... In other words, taking less sooner or waiting and getting more at a later time.   Say you get 1,000 a month  (round figures)  at 65.  You get 12,000 year for 5 years that's 60,000.  At 70 you would be getting  1300/month.  So at 75 you would have gotten 120,000 if you took it at 65.  If you waited to 70 you will have gotten 78,000 at 75.   At 80 you would have gotten 180,000  if you took it at 65 @1,000/mo. which is 1,000 x 12 months/yr x 15 years.   If you waited to 70 to take it, that's 1300/mo times 10 years which is 120 months = 156,000.  You still haven't caught up taking it at 70  for more money than if you take it at 65 for less money.

I don't know if I am explaining it..... I just know that it makes no sense to wait. @CntryBoy777  is right.  A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush.  I can live on my SS so all that I am making testing and any cattle money is getting me in better shape every month. 

From what little I have gathered, not being nosy, please don't think so,  you are retired and have a pension or other money to live on.  I feel from what you say, you are not rich, but don't have a mortgage, or not much so can live without any hardship month to month.  Not saying rich, but you are not struggling to make ends meet.

WHY would you want the gov't to keep any of your money for any longer?   They don't pay any interest, and there is no reason for them to keep your money with a "possible" increase of return down the road.  If the "rules change" how much of the SS would you lose? 
Another thing that the other "girl" at work told me her financial advisor told her;  she is diabetic.  What if she died at 70?  She is not married so no one to get the benefit of her SS.... and if she waited to 70 to take it she would not get any of it or very little.  So why wait?  She tested more farms for all the years than I did so her SS is higher at 62.5 than mine is at 65.  And she is still working too although I think that she has "given" a few farms to another tester so doesn't have to push so hard as I have slowed down with farms that have sold out or gone from monthly to every other month testing.
Yes you have a wife who will benefit if you pass away first. But, say you live to 75 or 80.  Then if you pass away, would she want to stay there?  If not, she can sell the property and have that as another source of "income" for her older years as well as your SS percentage if it is more than hers. 
In the meantime, you can take the SS money, if you don't need it, put it in a Roth IRA that has no requirements for minimum withdrawals, at any age, and she would benefit from that down the road as your heir..... if you have a pension now does she also benefit from that if you pass away?  Why not control your money, even in a low return investment, in a Roth IRA , than to let the gov't keep it for any longer.

I am NOT AN EXPERT.  But common sense told me I was making a smarter move and I am very satisfied with what I have done.


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## farmerjan

I asked my son about a "consumer reports" type of thing for tractors and he said that he doesn't know of any off hand but if you have something narrowed down, he might be able to give you an opinion.


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## CntryBoy777

I took several accounting courses in business college in the mid 70s and what @farmerjan stated so well, is what I was taught....been many changes since then and yrs on a memory....but didn't want to miss speak, since I certainly never worked in the "field"....


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> and the service manager was refreshingly honest.


The key word "refreshingly". I suspect your later comment about the conflict of interest talking down the brands they sell is more likely. Beyond that, sorry I really have no idea but I think TractorByNet is probably a decent place to ask. Find out what brands have nearby(ish) dealers and see what owners of those brands say about their tractors.  



CntryBoy777 said:


> As far as SS goes....a bird in the hand is worth more than 2 in the bush....imo....nobody knows at what point things will change or life will end


Yep, witness , never made it to early SS. My mom died just shy of 75, complications of the flu and a RH drug, her older sister lived to a few months shy of 93. You never know where you will fall in this game of life.

From what I understand the breakeven between starting SS at 62 (earliest possible) and 70 is age 80. I heard yesterday on NPR that SS is solid for the next 15 years, no comment made beyond that. I agree with Jan's "guess". If you NEEDED it to live on you would be collecting already. Of course at the moment "safe" investments pay basically nothing but if you took the SS and put it in a "safe" investment, you could push out that "breakeven" age some. 

I am kinda in the same boat as you are (if we work together we can row it straight to a destination  ), turned 64 last month. Thinking maybe I'll take the SS when I hit 65 and have to pay for Medicare. SS is taxable here and federally (which makes no sense that they are taxing you on money that they took from you and your employer in taxes to begin with). How much is taxed is dependant on income of course. Income will drop a fair bit whenever DW retires from the PO. She's only been a regular employee 5 years and is 58 Y/O.


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## Mike CHS

I was going to retire at 62 but the owner of the company I worked for talked me into staying 3 years till the end of the contract which ended a few months after my 65th.   We weren't finished with our home and property at that point so it made sense for us not to mention he doubled my pay andlet me work 4 day work weeks as an incentive so that was a no brainer that doesn't help in your case.  

My biggest reason for not drawing later than 65 is the huge number of my peers that I served with in the Navy passing unexpectedly never reaching that age.


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## farmerjan

My family is very long lived overall..... Parents are now 86 and 85, have some health issues but still alive and going.  Mother's side: her mother died young but her father was in mid 90's;  his mother also mid 90's, an aunt and uncle both in late 80's early 90's.....  Father's side:  his father was 87, his mother was 98,  mothers's mother was 89 , father's mother was 94 and fathers sister was 102 (104?) .    So, if I am anything like the family genes' suggest, I probably should have waited to 70,  as by 90 I will have lost about 50,000 I think I figured..... But hey, I might be gone by 85 also.  So, I will take it now, a little less, and be glad. 
Another thing, I didn't have it before, so it is extra money now.  Like I am almost getting a double paycheck,  as I usually get per month with working..... so why not take it now and stash away some for future needs.....


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone, for your comments and sage advice.

As for finances, I have a small pension (~$550/mo), while all other assets are in IRAs.  I have no other source of income, other than my wife's SS pension.  We do have a mortgage of ~$2500/mo.  Ouch!  I had hoped to have our house paid off when we retired, but when we found this place, we decided to buy it and see if we can do OK.  I have been withdrawing from my IRAs to provide income.  The SS I would receive would permit me to withdraw less from the IRAs, but I still would need to make withdrawals for income.

Here is what I was able to find out from the social security website.  I have normalized all figures so that age 70 income is $1000/mo.  Here is what I figured out:
age 68:   $838.28
age 70: $1000.00
cumulative income from taking SS at 68 when age 70: $20,118.77
age and balance at which the 2 become equal: 80 yr, 4 mo / $124,065.75

So if I delay, I am betting that (1) I will live past 80, and (2) the SS program will not change for the worse in the intervening years.  Both are fairly risky bets, it seems to me.  So I think I should sign up for SS soon.

As for tractor reliability ratings, I have been researching tractorbynet.com for the past few days, primarily on the forum "Buying/Pricing/Comparisons".  I may have to drill down into specific brands to see if I can learn more on what brands and models are better/worse.

Thanks, again, everyone for your thoughts!  You folks are great! 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

Right now the SS website is probably the only way you will get answers.  But, the country is going to open back up and get back to some sort of "normal". 
Take this with a grain of salt... it is only my 2 cents....... Make an appt with a representative at the SS office as soon as you can get one which might take a month after the "reopening"..... They will not give you advice.... and they make that very clear.... but they will give you a chart which will show you exactly what you will gain every month that you wait after 62.5... and maybe the website did that for you.  I am not as computer literate as you are I don't think.

Strange as it seems, the one thing you have going for you is that you are not working, so don't have an income  that could lower the amount of SS you receive.  For every dollar over a set amount that you are allowed to earn, you give up SS dollars.  One good thing for me, I did not go over that threshold by waiting for the year I turned 66 which was my full retirement age.  So that is why I waited those extra few months.  Will never go over the amount allowed as I never made that much in a year when I was working either....

Okay, I turned 65  in the fall of 2018.  By waiting to Jan 2019,  I was into the  YEAR  I turned 66 so became eligible for the increase earning allowed.   So I started my SS after  Jan 2019.  My medicare went into effect also since I wanted to get all the  benefit of the company added money in my health savings account before I lost my full time status as of Jan 2019.  I knew this was coming so I was able to plan it.  Medicare pays better than my insurance ever did, and with the plan I have and the supplement, I pay about a 200 deductible and that is all for the year.  My "drug plan" is a minimal one since I don't take anything regularly, so I have a small copay for drugs..... the last one was $1.25 for the 27 pills of painkillers that was prescribed.   Gee I think that I can afford that.

So, they take about 135/mo out of my SS directly, before I get my check,  that pays for the medicare part B.   So the SS I get direct deposited has already paid my Medicare  (A-free and B-$135).  Then I pay directly for my supplemental insurance which is about $88./mo that comes out of my checking account.  That is to cover all that medicare doesn't cover EXCEPT a prescription plan.  Prescription plan is considered part D.  I have a basic one.... costs me about 15/mo which I just pay once a year.....$190 m/l for the year.  I pay it and am done with it instead of worrying about a small monthly deduction.  So with all I am "paying" , my total insurance costs are about $250/mo and I am covered pretty much 100% of anything that I have done.  Medicare has allowances for things..... like the rehab I was in,  allowed for a semi-private room and after I opted for the private, I was responsible for the $55/day difference.  But I am just now getting the bills for the ankle replacement, and so far I have seen everything is paid for except for the deductible I had to meet.   I am talking THOUSANDS of dollars so far.

Whatever you do, when you get medicare, do not get the medicare advantage plans, if you have any idea of future surgeries down the road.... like I knew I would be doing with the ankle;  and the knees and shoulders in the future....
They are okay for someone who hasn't ever had any problems and don't think they ever will.  They will cover some things like glasses and some dental.... but there are way higher deductibles for other stuff.

My insurance lady said that my type was what she had put her husband on at 65, and she was going to do the same when she retired  this past Feb...... She said that they only paid 187 out of pocket for his knee replacement which cost over 70,000 total.  My girlfriend just had her knee replaced and her ins through the P.O. had her paying a deductible of over 3500...... with total costs of over 75,000 she said.  And she has other co-pays which I don't have.  I have no idea what the totals for my ankle are going to be with all the followup dr appts and still to come PT that I am supposed to do.

I think @Mini Horses changed her medicare to an advantage plan, but she is "healthier" than I am as far as the joints go and not looking at any replacement type surgeries.   You have to gear it to your own health situation.... but I would rather pay more now, and not get any bills in the mail later.... especially since I know there are some future "fix me" things like the knees.....

However, this doesn't help with the SS as much.  I think that your birthday is near to mine  (month)?   If so, and you turn 65 this year, it may or may not serve you to wait for Jan to take the SS for the income thing.... but if you don't have too much income in the year you take the SS then it might not make a difference.
Those are the kinds of things you have to ask questions about.


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## Bruce

You can change your Medicare every year, no? So if you don't expect any big surgeries you can do an Advantage plan and when you expect a surgery the following year switch to "original" Medicare?

Then there is the Part D- prescriptions. Somewhere in my mind is a thought that if you don't get it when you first sign up for Medicare then you either can't get it later or it costs a whole lot more (I don't recall which). Seems ridiculous to pay even $15/mo if you don't have much in the way of prescription drugs. I have only 1 and it is so cheap that I don't even have a co-pay for a 90 day supply. But if you are going to get screwed later you end up paying $180/year for nothing and that might go on for a decade or two before you actually need the coverage.


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## farmerjan

You pay a penalty on a per monthly assessment for all the time you don't have a drug plan.  If you have an advantage plan, I believe it is part of that package but @Mini Horses  could better address that.  
I did mention that my prescription plan was Part D. 
Yes, you can change your plan year to year.  If you have an advantage plan, and develop any problems, the chances of getting a "regular medicare" plan  AND getting the supplemental ins to cover is very slim to none.  The supplemental plans are like  life ins as they decide your risk factor and will either refuse to allow you to get a plan, or will charge ALOT more for it.  That it is why you have to be very careful of the way to go, and your individual health considerations.   If you go Medicare A and B and D (drug plan)  then you need to add a supplement to cover all the things not covered by the other.  And there is alot that is not covered and can easily cost way more than the supplemental plan like I have.  I think it is either "plan F or G"..... 
Medicare sets a standard for what each plan has to cover.... then when you decide which one to have, you go shopping with the different companies that supply the plans for the cost.  
It can be very confusing..... and after talking to our "expert" insurance lady at work, I followed her recommendations and I am not going to go looking to save a couple dollars and get something that has the fine print that  will  come back to haunt me because I didn't understand it.  
You need someone you trust to walk you through medicare......   SS is easier as far as just deciding when to take it.  ASAP is my thoughts on that in many cases nowadays if you are already not working and are eligible.


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## Mike CHS

I feel really fortunate that I am retired Navy since TRICARE covers pretty much everything that MEDICARE  doesn't.


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## farmerjan

Yeah, I thought paying for the drug plan a "waste" since I take nothing on a regular basis - have no health issues that require a daily "pill" for anything.  But after learning about the penalty thing, just went with the basic plan and it probably has come out about even for the cost of the pain pills and the supplements that were prescribed at the rehab,  compared to the cost of the plan for the year.   For me, it's the "what if"  something happens and I have an accident/wreck/injury of any sort and have to take stuff..... the penalty far out weighs the not having it and then having to get the prescrip plan and you can only sign up for it at certain times of the year....

What I am paying - $250/mo m/l  - is what my health ins was costing at work with 6500 deductible, and that was my part, not the company's full cost.  It is cheap ins for me to be totally covered for about anything that comes along.  And since $135 is coming off the top of the SS check, it is like "free money"  because my SS is extra income for me...... I never see the $135 in the first place.   I realize it is "out of my pocket" in a sense... but it is different if it is put into your account then taken back out..... and again, I don't HAVE to have my SS to survive but it adds a nice boost to my income. 

The tester that started it at 62.5 said that she took that money, her SS check,  and put it towards her payment on the tractor she bought for the  farm and the implements.....  I think she has it about paid off.... like one of those Kubota packages with loader, mower, bush hog, trailer.....


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## farmerjan

@Mike CHS , I think that the supplement I have  is pretty much like your TRICARE.... covers pretty much everything else.   Worth it to me.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Regarding Medicare, I started the part A and B when I retired at 65.  I signed up for Medicare parts A and B and elected COBRA to provide insurance coverage for Part D and for insurance coverage for my Beautiful Gal.  Beginning in 2019, I ended the COBRA and signed up for Medicare part D (no penalty as the COBRA was a qualified plan) and signed up for AARP supplemental insurance for me after learning about it from Miss @Baymule (thank you for that, Miss Baymule ).  I also learned at the time that my former company offered insurance coverage for my Beautiful Gal.  I am glad they did, as it was quite a bit cheaper with better coverage than what I was finding available on the open market.  So we are covered regarding the medical insurance.

Regarding SS, I am 1 year and 2 days older than you, Miss @farmerjan.  I have been using the SSA retirement calculator for the projections, so that is my source data for my analysis.  I just now checked the life expectancy found at https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html and learned that the average (arithmetic mean) life expectancy for someone my age is around 83.  But since they don't show what the median age is (the point where half of the folks have died), I am guessing that it would be around 80-81, about the time the crossover for me would be for taking SS now versus waiting until 70.  So it is looking more and more that I should start taking SS right away.

I want to thank every one of you for your thoughts, comments, and advice, as it has helped me to be able to make a (hopefully) wise choice.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

farmerjan said:


> The supplemental plans are like life ins as they decide your risk factor and will either refuse to allow you to get a plan, or will charge ALOT more for it.


Would that not be true even if you go with a supplemental plan from day 1?



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I am guessing that it would be around 80-81, about the time the crossover for me would be for taking SS now versus waiting until 70.


I don't understand why that would be true if 80 (ish) is the break even age between starting at 62 versus 70??? Seems like your break even would be at a later age since you are already about halfway between the two.


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## farmerjan

@Bruce   yes it is somewhat true as far as the higher costs if you switch FROM advantage,  TO regular A-B-D and supplement.  BUT, if you sign up with it right at eligibility at 65. they cannot refuse you a supplemental policy of your choice.  The cost may be very high, but you can still get whatever one you want ( I think that you had to have insurance previous, like through work or individual but I can't remember that part).  BUT once you do advantage, and have any health issue, they can REFUSE to switch you to a personal choice of a supplemental policy instead.  That is what my ins lady at work said for me to think about.... Again, this is taking into consideration my previous "health conditions" (none)  so was eligible for a good rate on any of the supplemental plans I wanted.  We did price several just for looking at what was covered, what co-pays might be, what deductibles were.  
It is an individual choice. 


Sounds like you got the ins covered, that is great.  It costs too much for individuals, and got so much worse with the "affordable health care plan" that was put into place several years ago..... I remember how much our work group ins went up;  and how we started to have to contribute a portion which we never did....
Glad that part of my life is over, as far as worrying about full time status, work ins increasing and deductible increasing.

Okay, so yes, @Senile_Texas_Aggie ... in my humble opinion.... MY PERSONAL OPINION ONLY...... I think it is past time to start your SS.  Get the advantage of the money now instead of waiting for another 2-3 years to reach 70..... Make your life a little easier money wise, and not have to pull as much from your IRA's...... or just give yourself a "cash cushion".  If you are paying a mtg like that, then you are pulling a fair amount and must have some good investments;   that is SUPER planning on your part during working years, to have it to pull from.    
Plus, get in before something goes totally haywire in this country and you don't get it..... or get a very reduced amount.  There will be some kind of grandfathering in if things get really bad...... and if the economy keeps on and all these bailouts keep getting passed, there is no way we can stay solvent in this country.  SOMEONE is going to have to pay the piper for the tune that keeps getting played.   Sadly, I don't think my son will have much to look forward to 20 years.....


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## Bruce

I'm currently covered through DW's P.O. Blue Cross plan, so is DD2. DD1 aged out last year, I will "Medicare out" next March and DD2 will age out May next year. Presumably the ~$7K she is paying now will go down a fair bit when she is covering only herself. 

I don't have any major medical issues, at least not yet. DW won't hit Medicare until 2027 and with her RA and her hips being affected her prior RA doc said she's in for future hip replacements. I guess we have to hope that can wait until she hits 65? But given she has a preexisting condition, a supplemental plan would be prohibitively expensive??

I agree with you on the future of SS, at least as it currently stands. If your son won't have much to look forward to in 20 years, I can only imagine what it will/won't be in 38 & 40 years for my DDs. Guess I better not spend their inheritance, they may need it to live on.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Just an update here so you will know we're still here and doing OK.

I applied for social security earlier this week.  I think I made the right decision to do so.  Also, I am still looking for another tractor but haven't decided what to get.  But I really miss the seat time on the tractor.  There is so much that remains to be done.

I wanted to tell you folks about a book that my Beautiful Gal and I just finished reading, titled _The Perfect Predator: A Scientist's Race to Save Her Husband From a Deadly Superbug: A Memoir_ by Steffanie Strathdee and Thomas Patterson.  The book is about a man (Thomas) who contracts a drug-resistant bacterial infection, namely _Acinectobacter Baumannii_.   During the man's treatment, the bacteria become completely resistant to all antibiotics.  But his wife (Steffanie) learns of an almost unknown treatment to take on the bacteria, namely bacteriophages (often shortened to phages).  Bacteriophages are viruses that attack bacteria.  Once she learns of the treatment, she is able to locate and get the appropriate phages for use on her husband.  The treatment, along with the antibiotics, finally kill the bacteria in her husband's body.

I mention this to everyone because you may be like me and have never heard of bacteriophages and their use in treating drug-resistant bacteria.  It is also not commonly known among the US medical community, although known in other parts of the world like Belgium.  (She explains the reasons why in the book.)  Now that you know about them, you can do your own research and then should you or someone you know contract drug-resistant bacteria, you can recommend the phage treatment to your doctor to see if it is available.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

There are many treatments for different things in European countries that are unheard of or put down by "modern medicine" here.  If I had been aware of the prolotherapy, PRP, and the stem cell treatments years earlier, I may have had a chance to prevent the ankle replacement and the upcoming  probable knee replacements.  I am looking into something developed in Australia and just now "allowed" in the US   as a possible alternative to knee replacement.  Suggested by a member of one of the cattle forums I frequent.   Hey, look at acupuncture.... it was considered VOODOO  "forever" and now is quite well accepted.  Yes, I have done it and think it did help a little to reduce some pain, and if does help to calm you if you are serious about believing it helps.  Poo pooing it will not allow your mind to work with your body.... but I did find that it helped my anxiety level and pain when I first started the PRP treatments.   I like what I can see, so it was a hard sell for me, but at the time I first tried it, I was hurting so from the PRP treatment that I was willing to try anything.  Surprising to me, the acupuncture worked the best in the beginning.  I would do it again if I felt that I could get some relief.  Problem is, the place I went here local for a few treatments has closed and it is a long way to go now to find someone.  
And no, I NEVER  FELT the slightest twinge when they were inserting the needles.....


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## Baymule

@ farmerjan what is this treatment you are looking into? Care to expound further on that? As a future knee replacement patient, I am very interested. I just want to be able to ride my horse without excruciating pain. Walking, eh, I stagger along, but I sooooo miss riding!


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## rachels.haven

My aunt moved to australia and became a citizen to be with her aussie sweetheart AND for their health care, so I don't doubt it. They fixed up her cancer and I still haven't heard of her coming stateside yet, so my guess is she likes it there. I'm sure they've got something nice going on over there.


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## farmerjan

The thing I have heard about is called Orthocell.  One of the Aussie members of one of the cattle forums said his friend has had it (?) been treated or whatever,  and that after 10 years is raising his arm above his shoulder and using it like it was never a problem.  What I have been able to find out so far is that it seems to be more for the ligaments/tendons, but the website I found also mentions cartilage .  It is in the process or has recently been approved by the FDA. the place I found on the internet is in Washington State.... I think.  I was looking into it before the ankle replacement and honestly haven't done much about it since then.  I've been pre-occupied with the house thing.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

A brief update on what is happening here at STA Farm...

Last Saturday I went to Glenwood, Ar, about 3 hours from here, to look at a Massey Ferguson 1740M cab tractor.  I really liked it compared to the other tractors I had looked at and test drove.  He gave me a offer that was decent, and he offered me $5000 for my old tractor as trade-in.  So when I left I was leaning toward buying the tractor.  But over the weekend I started rethinking the whole deal, as I currently do not have enough cash in the checking account to pay cash and don't want to take more money out of my rollover IRA to pay cash, and I didn't want to take out a loan.  Plus there were two things about the tractor that gave me pause: (1) it was 40 hp, compared to 48 hp for my current tractor, and (2) the hydraulic lines for the front end loader stick out to the side, compared to my current tractor, where they are close to the tractor body.  Since I often get into brush and small and large trees, I feared the hydraulic lines would get torn off.

So when Monday morning came, I went to town and started asking around for places that could overhaul my tractor. (I had done that previously with no luck.)  This time, someone suggested a place that may do that.  So I went there and talked to them.  They said that they could do it and the price, $4500, was a lot more reasonable than the prices I had been quoted in the past -- $10-15K from the dealer as well as an independent diesel repair place in Fort Smith.  So on Tuesday I took the tractor over there.  They said that they would call once they got it apart and could determine how much would need to be done to repair it.  So that is where things stand regarding the tractor.

Also, I was mowing using my push mower around the places that are hard to reach with the ZTR mower.  I got too close to the pallet folks I have lying on the ground next to all of the other tractor implements and hit one of the forks with the mower.  It immediately died.  But even worse, oil started coming out fairly fast of the bottom of the engine.  So yesterday I took it a mower repair shop.

I hope the tractor and mower are not signs of things to come!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## frustratedearthmother

I hope you've used up your quota of bad luck for awhile!


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## thistlebloom

Here's hoping they can repair your tractor reasonably! It pays to hunt around for advice on repair shops. Some of them are obscure and don't need to advertise because word of mouth business is so good. It's not always what you know, it's who you know.


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## CntryBoy777

It will probably be cheaper to replace the push mower....Joyce is a mower killer, so I tend to get the least expensive ones cause they don't usually hang around long before they are in the condition yours are in....she killed my mulching mower just a couple of months ago...


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## thistlebloom

CntryBoy777 said:


> It will probably be cheaper to replace the push mower....Joyce is a mower killer, so I tend to get the least expensive ones cause they don't usually hang around long before they are in the condition yours are in....she killed my mulching mower just a couple of months ago...



I think Joyce is trying to tell you something.


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## CntryBoy777

thistlebloom said:


> I think Joyce is trying to tell you something.


Yeh....she can't pay attention to look for things in the grass before she pushes the mower thru it.....  ....it's the ADHD at its best....if ya was referring to me doing the pushing, well she can't sit still and her health is much better than mine...she would rather do it instead of feeling guilty if I had a 3rd heart attack....🤣


----------



## thistlebloom

Oh dear! I wouldn't want you to have a third one either! 
I have hit a boulder or two in the tall weeds.
 Have my share of mower casualties...


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

If the mower proves to be unrepaireable, I may buy the kind of mower that cuts with the nylon cords.  Has anyone here ever owned one.  How long do the nylon cords last?


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## CntryBoy777

If ya are talking about something like a DR Trimmer, the durability of the cords depends on what is being cut....I have gone thru several sets cutting thru ditch bank growth, but lasts for awhile on just grass....if ya are one that wants a "finished look", ya may be disappointed with it....because it is a 6hp weedeater on wheels....difficult for a smooth even cut...they are great for thick heavy growth, but for mowing they're heavier and not as easily handled as a regular blade mower.....


----------



## thistlebloom

We have a Cub Cadet line trimmer mower. It's great in the weeds, everywhere I used to use my weed whip. It's much faster than a weed whip and a lot easier on the body.
I find that coarse woody growth will tear the line out, but in the spring when it's still tender, the same size shrubby weed growth gets cut much better. We get Snowberry shrubs popping up everywhere, and that's more difficult to cut later in the season.
I'm in agreement with @CntryBoy777 about mowing a lawn with it, it doesn't give the same effect as a mower and isn't as manageable.

But it's irreplaceable around here for managing the weeds. I should add that since we got the string trimmer I haven't destroyed so many mowers running into hidden rocks.


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I hope the tractor and mower are not signs of things to come!


Me too!!!!!



CntryBoy777 said:


> It will probably be cheaper to replace the push mower....Joyce is a mower killer, so I tend to get the least expensive ones cause they don't usually hang around long before they are in the condition yours are in....she killed my mulching mower just a couple of months ago...


Joyce, Joyce, Joyce. Ya gotta be careful with the machines!



CntryBoy777 said:


> if ya was referring to me doing the pushing, well she can't sit still


I will attest to that. She can NOT sit still. 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> How long do the nylon cords last?


As @CntryBoy777 said, they are really no different than a string trimmer on wheels. Depends on what you hit, get close to a metal fence and the answer is "not long" and if it is welded wire, it will break the welds at the same time. The string will wear fast on big woody stuff but hardly at all on grass size plants.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Just a short update on what's going on here at STA Farm.  First, my Beautiful Gal and I are celebrating our 45th anniversary today!  Can you believe that she has put up with me that long? 

Second, I think I know what my punishment in hell is going to be.  Just as Sysiphus was condemned by the gods to push a huge boulder up a hill only to have it roll back down the hill when near the top, my punishment will be to work on PVC pipe(*).  You see, the water lines that I worked on in February I think seem to be leaking again.  Our water bill was higher than normal, so yesterday I went to check the water valves and pressure regulator access tubes to see if there was water there.  There was, but not a tremendous amount.  Since it has been raining a good bit, I was not sure if the water was from a leak or if it is just from ground seepage.  The weather forecast for today and tomorrow is 80% chance of rain, but it is supposed to be nice Monday, so I guess I will be digging it up and repairing if needed.

Senile Texas Aggie

-----------

(*) A year or two after we moved into our house in McKinney, TX, I decided to put in a drip irrigation system for the flower beds my Beautiful Gal had planted around the edge of the back yard.  I also ran tubing to water the plants she hung under the patio cover.  It proved to be great -- except when it leaked.  It seemed to spring a leak about every year or two.  I used PVC pipe to supply the water to the control valve, then black plastic pipe to distribute the water to the different places where needed.  The black plastic pipe never leaked, probably because it was low pressure and was not under continual pressure.  The PVC, however, seemed to develop leaks about every year or two.  No matter how I tried -- using a lot of primer or a little, using a lot of glue or a little, it would spring a leak somewhere in the part I installed.  I never did figure out what I was doing wrong.  It seems I may be repeating the same mistakes here.


----------



## rachels.haven

GAH! Darn plumbing!


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## farmerjan

CONGRATULATIONS ON 45 years together.  That is so wonderful.  My hat's off to you.  My parents celebrated 67 last Nov..... It takes alot to be able to last through all the ups and downs.

I am in AWE of you.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thank you, Miss @farmerjan!  I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful wife!

Yesterday the rains held off long enough for me to dig up 2 different spots of the plumbing.  I concluded that the plumbing is NOT leaking!  What made me think it was leaking was that our water bill was quite a bit higher than normal ($92 versus around $50).  Since I don't recall our having used any more water than normal, I assumed it was leaking again.  It still may be, but I don't think it is leaking where I installed the plumbing.  I will try to confirm that today.  Regrettably we got A LOT of rain last night and both holes I dug are filled with water, so I will need to bail them out.  But maybe there won't be water seeping into the holes and they will remain dry.  Of course, that leaves the question of where the water went.  I hope there is not a leak somewhere between the water meter at the highway and our house.  That line is 1/2 mile in length!  Oh, well, I have been sitting here wishing for something to do besides watch YouTube videos! 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch

Congratulations on your anniversary!!

I hope you figure out what's causing the increase without having to dig up that whole distance.


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I hope there is not a leak somewhere between the water meter at the highway and our house. That line is 1/2 mile in length!


OK, here is what you do:
Read the meter
Turn off the water at the house
Leave it off for 24 hours and then check the meter. 
If the meter hasn't changed, you are either using a lot more than you think (did you forget about the 50,000 gallons to fill the pool?  ) or you have a leak somewhere between the shutoff and all the places you use water.
UNLESS
The meter is on the house side of the shutoff. In that case, shut off the water right after the next meter reading. Leave it off until the next reading and see how many gallons you used. If any, there is a leak in that 1/2 mile pipe. 
(This might be just a little inconvenient)



Larsen Poultry Ranch said:


> I hope you figure out what's causing the increase without having to dig up that whole distance.


Especially with no tractor!


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## Bruce

I forgot 2 things when I came up with the extremely helpful suggestions!

First: Happy Anniversary! You not only married young but kept it going! That is not very common.   

Second: Your plumbing problems have leaked over to me!!!! Today I got out the hose and reel that sit by the pool and feed both a hose for that and one to take out to the veg garden. Came inside and opened the valve. Heard water outside, not a good thing because I was pretty sure I'd closed the tap AND both parts of the splitter. Went back outside looked under the deck and yep, water spraying. That means the black plastic pipe ruptured. No idea how old it is, it came with the house. So now I need to replace maybe 30' of black plastic pipe before I can do anything with the pool or water the garden.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thank you, Miss @Larsen Poultry Ranch and Mr @Bruce, for the anniversary wishes!  Yes, I am very lucky to have the wonderful woman as my wife!

Regarding reading the meter, I tried doing that, only to discover that the meter had been replaced (covered over?) with a device that permits the water company to read the meter remotely.  While I was there at the meter, I did listen for water flowing and did not hear any, unlike back in February when I dug up the water line to begin with.  Of course, back in February I had already busted the line at that point and water was gushing out the pipe, so I _should_ have been able to hear water flowing!

I bailed out most of the water from the holes yesterday.  This morning they have filled back up, but not as much as when I first bailed them out yesterday.  So either the leak is VERY slow, or it is simply rain water from the ground that is seeping back into the holes (I think the latter).  I will bail out the water again today and see if I can find any leaks.

I hope you can get your leak fixed easily, Mr. @Bruce.  I would hate to know I infected you with a plumbing problem!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## CntryBoy777

Something ya can do to find a leak, if any, is to walk the path of the pipe....if there is a leak there will be water "boiling" up from the ground, erosin, or soft spots.....what ya are describing sounds like ya have had rain and the perculating groundwater is what is refilling the holes...the water company will come check the meter and their side for free...


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## thistlebloom

Belated anniversary congratulations STA!
Plumbing issues are the worst IMO. 

At our first house, a decrepit fixer-upper, dh redid all the plumbing. He had a terrible time getting the copper pipe to be leak free at the joints. I remember distinctly the frustration and disappointment when yet another joint started dripping. Ugh. We found out it was due to old -_something_- I can't remember the name of, that is essential to soldering copper pipe joints- that my dad had given him to use.
Thanks dad! Probably meant it for character training, haha.


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## Oakknollfarms

@Senile_Texas_Aggie Hope you are well, friend!

Just a thought...... while making your decision on the tractor and bush hog that you need, have your thought about leasing it to a farmer for hay production?  About half of my 68 acres is cared for by a wonderful farmer who grows hay and soy beans. It’s always cut, fertilized and kept beautifully manicured. And generates an income. I don’t know about your area, but maybe people lease out that way as well?

Your farm is gorgeous, by the way. And I totally second the suggestions of starting with chickens. I’m addicted now. As far as goats, they could be helpful with cleaning up undergrowth as well!!


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I hope you can get your leak fixed easily, Mr. @Bruce. I would hate to know I infected you with a plumbing problem!


Well I'm already jinxed! And not too bright. I went to the hardware store to get the plastic joining piece and 2 hose clamps. Plus a PVC pipe cutter because I am too dang old to be laying half on my back and half on my side in a space perhaps 18" high cutting tubing with a Stanley knife. Came home with the parts for the 1/2" tubing. Too small!! I had ASS-U-MEed that since the copper pipe inside the house was half inch that the tubing would be as well   So now that I have had lunch I'll be heading back to the store to get the proper size. At least now I have a section of pipe so I can make SURE I get the right size pieces.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Regarding reading the meter,


OK, brain going all over the place.  IF the meter is at the house and the leak is in the 1/2 mile between the house and the road, you wouldn't be measuring ANY usage for the water that leaks out in the 1/2 mile pipe because that water never got to the meter, right? I wonder if they have any tools that can detect leaks in a water line. I'm sure they would rather not be cleaning up a lot of water to make it potable just to have it leak into the ground.

Do you suppose the water company MIGHT be willing to read the meter (can they do it remotely or do they have to drive by?) Once in the morning and once in the afternoon? If you use little to no water during that time (or hopefully can turn the water off on the house side of the meter) but they show a big use you will know  that it is leaking somewhere between the meter and the use points.



thistlebloom said:


> I remember distinctly the frustration and disappointment when yet another joint started dripping. Ugh. We found out it was due to old -_something_- I can't remember the name of, that is essential to soldering copper pipe joints- that my dad had given him to use.


That must have been frustrating!!!! I don't know how long ago you did the plumbing but my guess is the solder or the flux was old. 

When I did our old house 29 years ago I was lucky and had only one bad joint and that was found with the pressurized air test.


----------



## thistlebloom

Bruce said:


> That must have been frustrating!!!! I don't know how long ago you did the plumbing but my guess is the solder or the flux was old.



Flux! That's it, you genius you. This plumbing adventure was 37 years ago, and of course I was a child bride so I don't feel as old as I should.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Oakknollfarms said:


> have your thought about leasing it to a farmer for hay production?



Miss @Oakknollfarms,

    Good to see you back on the forum!  I've missed you while you were gone.  Regarding leasing the pastures for hay production, I currently have all of the good pastures leased for hay production.  (The one overgrown pasture is not leased as it has excess water drainage issues which I am trying to fix.)  See the picture below.



Bruce said:


> Came home with the parts for the 1/2" tubing. Too small!! I had ASS-U-MEed that since the copper pipe inside the house was half inch that the tubing would be as well



Oh, no, Mr. @Bruce!  You sound more and more like me.  We are both getting close to each earning a Zinger™ award!



Bruce said:


> IF the meter is at the house and the leak is in the 1/2 mile between the house and the road, you wouldn't be measuring ANY usage for the water that leaks out in the 1/2 mile pipe because that water never got to the meter, right?



I have about concluded that the leak, if there really is one, is not at the plumbing repair next to the house.  The water meter is at the road, 1/2 mile from the house, so it should register any water leaking anywhere along the 1/2 pipe.  Here is a picture depicting our property, with the red lines outlining the pastures we are currently leasing (~50 acres), the blue lines representing the water lines, and the yellow lines representing the property boundaries.  The smaller yellow lines represent the boundaries of other properties around us.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch

Can you install another meter along the waterline, maybe after the first hay zone. That way you can track how much water that field uses and narrow down where water issues might be located?


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> We are both getting close to each earning a Zinger™ award!


Nah, one needs to do something quite stupid to get a Zinger™ award. Silly things or things you can't really know about are, at most, worth a DOH! You can't fix something before it causes trouble if you don't know it is broken.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> The water meter is at the road, 1/2 mile from the house, so it should register any water leaking anywhere along the 1/2 pipe.


OK, then I would call the water company and see if they would be willing to read the meter twice in one day a few hours apart when you can choose to use no water at all. And if you have a shutoff in that line at the house before it branches elsewhere, shut off that valve. If there is ANY change in the meter you know it is in that 1/2 mile pipe 

How much water was on your last bill and what do you think would have been a reasonable amount based on prior usage? Also, is it a monthly read or quarterly? A "not all that big" leak over a 3 month period might not register much in a few hours.

Also, given you undoubtedly have a really shallow frost depth (if any), how deep would the pipe be buried? Like @CntryBoy777 said, there would likely be wet areas near the leak if the pipe is only maybe 18" down. Here they need to be 4', lots of places for water to go rather than show at the surface.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I decided to go back and look at our water usage since we moved in back in May 2018.  Here is how it turned out:


Date​usage​amount​2018-May-24​3100​$35.26​2018-Jun-25​3300​$36.38​2018-Jul-20​3300​$38.73​2018-Aug-21​3200​$39.40​2018-Sep-20​3200​$39.40​2018-Oct-22​3300​$40.02​2018-Nov-19​3100​$38.79​Dec 2018 through Mar 2019 data missing​​​2019-Apr-22​3300​$40.02​May 2019 through Jul 2019 data missing​​​2019-Aug-26​2600​$35.71​2019-Sep-25​3600​$41.87​2019-Oct-21​4600​$48.03​2019-Nov-26​11900​$87.60​2019-Dec-26​8900​$72.37​2020-Jan-25​4000​$44.33​2020-Feb-26​91400​$489.87​Mar 2020 data missing​​​2020-Apr-21​12900​$92.66​


It was in Feb 2020 when I repaired the plumbing.  I really wish I could find the Mar 2020 water bill, as that would help me have a better idea if the water usage was back to normal (~ 4000 gals) or was more like April's.  Until I receive May 2020 bill in a few days I will assume (<= dangerous word) that there is no leak anywhere.

When I checked this morning, the water level in the 2 holes I dug was quite low.  I concluded that water was NOT leaking from the plumbing work I did in February.  I decided to fill the holes back in, this time using only sand.  That will make it easier to dig them up should they really be leaking.

This morning my Beautiful Gal and I went to the southern pond to start cleaning off the dam from overgrowth.  Dummy me forgot to take "before" pictures.  But we still have A LOT more work to do, so I will take some pictures soon.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

You could probably call the water dept and ask what your usage was on the last bill. If back to normal   if not you want to figure out where all that water you are paying for is leaking out so you can stop paying for water you are not getting any benefit from.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

We will be getting May's water bill soon, so I will check it to see what our usage is.  If it is above normal, then I will talk to the water company about trying to locate the leak.  I have a suspicion where it might be.  The problem is that I don't know EXACTLY where the water line is.  I believe it follows the driveway from the road, crosses the creek over the culvert, and then starts veering away from the driveway towards the house.  I can see in the pasture where the line was dug, from the edge of the pasture next to the house down toward the creek.  But past that point the line is no longer visible in the grass.  But I suspect that if the line is leaking, it is near a tree on the other side of the creek.  The pasture to the east of that tree often stays wet.  I haven't suspected the water line, as that area receives a good bit of water from the creek whenever the creek overflows.  But if the water bill is higher than normal and the water company won't look for the leak on private property, I may decide to rent a mini excavator and do some exploring of my own.


----------



## CntryBoy777

They may not look for the leak, itself, but should mark the path the waterline takes to the house....even if a small fee is required to do so...it surely would be cheaper than renting a piece of equipment to "hunt and peck" out the path....


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch

Do you know if it's a PVC pipe or metal for the water supply? If metal a plumber should be able to trace it easily. If PVC might have to get more creative to track it. Sometimes PVC pipes are buried with tracing wire in the trench so they can be found with metal detector, but older pipes might not have that.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

CntryBoy777 said:


> They may not look for the leak, itself, but should mark the path the waterline takes to the house....even if a small fee is required to do so...it surely would be cheaper than renting a piece of equipment to "hunt and peck" out the path....



I will certainly contact them before I rent a mini-excavator.  If it is a reasonable amount, then I will have them tract the line if they can.



Larsen Poultry Ranch said:


> Do you know if it's a PVC pipe or metal for the water supply? ,,, Sometimes PVC pipes are buried with tracing wire in the trench so they can be found with metal detector, but older pipes might not have that.



I don't remember noticing what the water line is at the meter, but near the house the line is PVC.  If there is a tracing wire, that would be great!  That way I could more easily dig near it before I rip it out the way I did at the house back in February.  As soon as the water bill arrives, I will have a better idea if there is a problem.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, I am an idiot!  (What else is new?)  What makes me say this now is because of what I did or didn't do until yesterday.  Yesterday my Beautiful Gal and I decided to go to the mail box to see if the water bill had arrived on Saturday.  It had not.  But I decided to see if there was a way to read something on the meter's wireless transmitter to give an indication of how much water has been used.  When I removed the water meter cover plate, this time I reached down to what I thought was the wireless transmitter.  It turned out to be merely a cover plate with a hinge on one end.  Flipping the cover plate away, there was a mechanical water meter!  There never had been a wireless transmitter!   

There was a small triangle in the center of the meter that was going around.  I took that to indicate that water was flowing through the meter.  Leaving my Beautiful Gal there to watch the small triangle, I drove to the house to cut off the water at the house.  When I went back to the gate, my Beautiful Gal reported that there had been no change in the rate of flow.  So we wrote down the number at meter and came back home.  Consulting last month's bill, we determined that we had used just under 20,000 gallons in one month!  So there definitely is a leak somewhere!  I will be calling the water department tomorrow to see if they can trace the water line for me.

Now for another issue I am facing -- the erosion of the driveway.  On the way back to the house I took some pictures of the driveway near the creek.  After a heavy rain the creek often overflows its banks on the side of the driveway, washing away the gravel on the driveway.

This is looking south from the gate down into the low lying area next to the creek.  The ground slopes away from the viewer, and then from right to left.  The creek is to the right: 


This is farther down the driveway, where the erosion starts: 

This is at the curve looking back toward the gate where the erosion ends: 

What would you folks recommend I do to prevent the erosion of the driveway?

Back to the water line, this is a picture of the tree where I suspect the water may be leaking: 

This is the view from the porch back toward the creek.  The thin darker green line going through the pasture is where I suspect the water line is buried: 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> There never had been a wireless transmitter!


 But hey, wireless transmitters are really common now, saves the water company a ton of money not having people go record the readings by hand. How were you to know? At least now you know you can check it ... and sadly that there IS a leak in that 1/2 mile line.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> What would you folks recommend I do to prevent the erosion of the driveway?


Um, dig the creek deeper? I ASSUME that the water doesn't really have anywhere to go once it crosses the road so I don't guess a culvert would be of any use unless there was a normally dry pond on the other side. Could you maybe make a berm (or a ditch? ) on the creek side of the road long enough and high (low) enough to keep the water from washing over the road until the road is higher than where the water would be when it floods? The only other idea I have (and I've NEVER had to deal with such things) would be to raise the road. 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> The thin darker green line going through the pasture is where I suspect the water line is buried


Seems reasonable that the plant life would be healthier where there is more water. Might be a good place to start looking, hopefully the water dept has a method to pinpoint the leak (and HOPEFULLY it is only a single leak). Is there a shut off at the meter? I ASSUME there is. You might want to be prepared to turn it off fast if you get close to the leak and all of a sudden the lack of dirt around the pipe lets it spew with force.


----------



## Baymule

On the road washout, like @Bruce, I would suggest raising the road and placing culverts under it. I would also line the sides of the road with bags of cement to check erosion.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone, for your comments.  I called the water department early this morning and  they just now (10:27 AM) called back.  They said that they do not have the equipment to locate a leak like that.  They said that there are companies in Fayetteville (~ 3 hours away) that have sonar equipment that could locate the leak, but that the companies would charge A LOT of money.  They recommended that I simply dig up the line about halfway between the water meter and the house and install a water shut-off valve, then turn off that valve and turn on the water at the meter.  If the water is still flowing, then the leak is closer to the meter.  If it stops, then it is closer to the house.  If I rented a mini-excavator and dug up the lines in several places then I could install the cut-off valves at the same time.  I'll think about how to solve this problem.  In the mean time, if you folks have any ideas, I will gladly listen.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## CntryBoy777

Sounds like a good suggestion to me.....and it could be a benefit in the future.....install the cutoff on the meter side of the area that ya feel is the right area of possible leak.....also, if ya are that far away from the meter....ya need a cutoff closer to the house....in an Emergency ya won't be ridin in your Gator with housecoat flappin in the breeze behind ya to cut water off.....  .....sure hope ya can find it and a simple repair is all that is needed.....

About the erosin on the road....I do realize much of my idea is with ya having a tractor to assist some...water will Always "seek" level and will flow towards that....if ya prefer to not "raise" the road as much, then ya can "lower" the side where the water flows from and place about 3-4 smaller pipes across the road....I would trench about half the size of the pipe used across the road...use level to assure proper flow direction...and get a load of gravel over it.....ya can use some gravel instead of the sacks....and if bigger is needed, I'm sure rip-rap should be fairly cheap out your way....


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

CntryBoy777 said:


> ya need a cutoff closer to the house



That was something I installed right at the house when I repaired the leak back in February.  But your description of me driving to the gate in the Gator is spot on.  Did one of my neighbors tell you what happened? 



CntryBoy777 said:


> I do realize much of my idea is with ya having a tractor to assist some



I am hoping to have my tractor back either this week or next week.  Then maybe I can address my water issues.  Thanks for those suggestions.

Yesterday I called the man who installed the driveway for our place and told him of our problems with the water leaking.  He stopped by on his way home.  Once he got here I learned that he did not install the water line, but that someone else did.  The water line installation was probably before the driveway installation, so that meant that there was no culvert for the water line to cross.  It was most likely buried beneath the creek.  Here is the approximate path he thinks the water line follows from the near the gate to the house.  The waviness of the line is my lack of ability to draw a smooth curve:  


Here is an enlargement of where he thinks the water line crosses the creek.  Again the waviness of the line is caused by my inability to draw a smooth curve:  

The two "X"s in the first picture, one near the gate in the upper right and one along the lower center, identify the places where water appears to be coming up out of the ground and thus where the leak may be.  I plan to dig up those areas by hand to see if I can find a leak there.  The problem is that a lot of places on our farm has water coming out of the ground, which is caused by a layer of shale just below the surface of the soil, and when a lot of rain falls (like here recently) the water will flow along the top of the shale and back out onto the surface.  Once it dries out, these wet weather springs dry up.  So the digging may be a waste of time.

As for the rest of the route for the water line, it sounds plausible, but I hate to put a lot of trust into it.  The reason is that the person who visited used dowsing rods to locate the water line.  In scientific studies under carefully controlled conditions, dowsing has proven to be no better than chance.  Yet the path he chose does seem plausible, since the water line was probably put in before the driveway and where he thinks the water line crosses the creek could be where a bridge once was.  Also, that is where I dug out the creek when I had rented the mini-excavator to dig out the water line near the house.  I may have cracked (but not busted) the water line then and it has been leaking into the creek.    So the next few days should prove interesting.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## farmerjan

I realize you are a more "scientific type person" than some others of us, but please don't discount the dowser's input.  They are highly relied upon and regarded in many places in this country for being able to find water and for bringing in wells etc.  They have been used often here in Va for finding water.  If he says that is where the water line, I would bet a paycheck that he is pretty darned close to being spot on. 

Any news on the tractor?  

I am in a holding pattern for the house situation, waiting to get an appt with a mtg person, they are getting the survey recorded and stakes in and all.  Not going to happen very fast.  Our stupid Gov just decreed that as of Friday we have to wear a mask in all public businesses.....after he was seen out in public without one, as he made this stupid decree. what BS and who is he to dictate to private businesses.  Guess I better go do any shopping I have to do before Friday, as it isn't going to happen with me.  I feel that is part of the problem with preventing the virus from running it's course and the herd immunity..... I have to wear one now for PT for the hour and it is not helping my breathing at all..... That may change me to go to 2 x a week instead of 3 and just do more exercises at home.   People who have possible compromised systems should wear masks, but those that do not,  should not.


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> They recommended that I simply dig up the line about halfway between the water meter and the house and install a water shut-off valve, then turn off that valve and turn on the water at the meter.


A binary search is the most efficient but you could be putting in a lot of "cut the distance in half" valves! I guess if you put 1 in at the 1/4 mile mark then one at the 1/8 mile on whichever side the leak is on, then one at the 1/16 mark you wouldn't have TOO much pipe to dig up. Would be seriously difficult to spot if it happens to be leaking into the creek.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Just a brief post here -- I have a LOT to post once I get done with the water line.  I rented a mini-excavator on Wednesday, but didn't get home until after dark (more on that later).  Yesterday, with a 60% chance of rain in the forecast, I decided I would not try digging up the line until today, as I did not want to get started and have it start pouring down raining.  We received no rain, but I got some useful work done any way that I had planned to do once I repaired the water line.  My Beautiful Gal and I have an appointment in town this morning at 9, but I plan on starting once we get back.  I plan on digging in two spots while the water is off: (1) in the pasture closer to the house, where I have a high degree of confidence the water line is, as it is on the green line visible from the house, and (2) on the other side of the creek toward the gate, but fairly close to the creek.  I have less confidence the water line is there, but it is plausible, since the water line was put in before the culvert across the creek was put in, and that is where I would run the water line were I to be putting it in.  I'll let everyone know how it goes after I dig them up.

More later on water dowsing.

Regarding the tractor, the parts were expected to arrive today, and they planned on working on it next week.

I hope your mortgage goes through without any problem.

Regarding the wearing of masks to reduce the spread of COVID-19, below are two different videos regarding wearing masks, one pro and one con.  I know nothing about either of these two doctors and thus have no opinion as to whether or not they know what they are talking about or are full of bull.

For wearing a mask:





Against wearing a mask:





I will update my journal when I get time.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## rachels.haven

to your waterline issues. We're cheering for you, but man, that's tough.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Regarding the tractor, the parts were expected to arrive today, and they planned on working on it next week.


Is this someone other than the tractor sales/service place? And what sort of price did they give you? Apparently good enough to get it fixed rather than replacing it. 

Good luck on the water line, hope you find it quickly.


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## drstratton

I hope that you can find the leak quickly and don't have to spend to much time digging around for it!  What a daunting task, I do not envy you!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

In case you folks have been wondering where I have been, I will provide you with a description of the fun I have had over the past several days dealing with my water line.  I will break up the description into several posts so that you won't feel overwhelmed.

*Day 1, Wednesday, May 27 - picking up the excavator*

I decided I needed to rent an excavator to try to locate where the leak(s) in the water line was/were, so I drove to Conway, AR (about 2.5 hours away) to the Home Depot there to rent the same excavator I rented last year.  On the way there, I ran into some road construction just north of Danville, AR.  It took about 30 minutes to go about 4 miles.  I noticed once I got past the construction that AR 307 joined AR 27 north of the construction, as well as joined AR 10 west of Danville.  That meant that I could take AR 307 around the construction.  Since I would be pulling a trailer, I decided that would be a smart thing to do.

On the way back, I did turn onto AR 307 to avoid the construction.  Big mistake.  About 50 yards onto AR 307, I noticed a sign which read "Spring Lake 8 mi, Pavement ends 4 mi".  Since it had rained pretty hard while I was in Conway, I did not want to risk getting stuck, so I decided to turn around.  I turned into a driveway that seemed long enough, but I only noticed the tree in the middle of the driveway after I had pulled in.  I pulled up the left side of the tree, just far enough to get off the road.  I should have pulled into the driveway on the right side, but it didn't occur to me at the time what a big mistake that was.  I tried to curve the trailer so that I could turn around but did not have enough room without the truck's left rear wheels going into the ditch on the left side.  I tried to back across the road, having the trailer's wheels off of the pavement and almost into the ditch on the other side, hoping I would have enough room to turn onto the road to the left.  The mailbox at the end of the driveway was in the way for that approach.

Next I decided to try pulling the truck onto the grass to my left of the driveway, hoping that would give me enough room to back the trailer out so I could get turned around.  Another big mistake.  Once I pulled onto the grass there, the ground was so soft and slippery that the front of the truck slid to the left, making the angle on the trailer even worse to try backing up.  I tried many times to get enough room to angle the trailer so I could back onto the road, but every time I did that the truck's left rear tires would go into the ditch.  Finally, I tried again but then the trailer's left rear tires went into the ditch!  I was stuck!  Despite putting the truck into 4 wheel drive, the truck and trailer would not budge!  Now I would have to unload the excavator from the trailer.

I unchained the excavator from the trailer and SLOWLY backed the excavator off of the trailer.  Because the trailer's left tires were in the ditch, the trailer and excavator were tilted to the left, enough so that I was afraid that the excavator would tip over.  I backed up and in the process managed to bang the fenders on the left side of the trailer with the bucket of the excavator, partially dislodging them from the brackets that held them on.  Once I got the excavator off of the trailer and safely parked out of the way, I tried getting the truck and trailer unstuck.  They still would not budge!  This whole time I was thinking that if Mr. @CntryBoy777 were here he'd be rolling on the ground laughing.

While I was studying what to do next, a couple drove by.  Noticing the situation, the man asked if I would like some help.  I told him I could always use some adult supervision.  So he parked his truck on the side of the road and came and looked over the situation.  At first he thought we could lift the rear of the trailer out of the ditch using the excavator, but then came up with unhooking the trailer from the truck and using the excavator to move the trailer out of the way.  So that was what we did.  With him using the excavator to lift the trailer and move it out of the way, I was able to get the truck unstuck and turned around.  He was able to get the trailer turned around so that I could back the truck into the driveway and hook onto the trailer.  I thanked him for his help, reloaded the excavator, and finally pulled onto AR 307 to get back onto AR 27 and drive through the road construction.  Ironically, the road crew had left for the day and opened the road back up so there was no blockage on the highway.  I had gone through all of the trouble for nothing!

Trailer ruts on other side of the road:    


Ditch where I got stuck:  

Side of driveway that was so soft and slick:

Truck, trailer, and excavator after getting ready to leave: 

Close-up of dislocated fender:


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

*Day 2, Thursday, May 28 - digging trenches*

Because the weather forecast was for a 60% chance of rain, I decided not to work on the water line but instead dug a trench just east of the driveway near the creek with plans to put in a french drain later (not knowing what the week had in store).

*Day 3, Friday, May 29 - running errands and "Oops!"*

On Friday my Beautiful Gal and I had appointments for haircuts at 9 AM.  When it was time to pay, I discovered that I had left my wallet at home.  We went back home, got the wallet, went back to town, and paid for the haircuts.  Then my Beautiful Gal said that she should get her driver's license switched over while we were in town.  Since her Texas driver license was going to expire at the end of June, I agreed.  The Arkansas driver license office is next door to the hair salon, so we went in there to get her Arkansas driver license.  The clerk there said that she would need to present her birth certificate to get her license.  So we went back home a second time and got her birth certificate.  When she went in with the birth certificate, the clerk told her that she needed to also present a copy of her marriage license.  So we went back home a third time to get our marriage license, which my Beautiful Gal had framed hanging on the wall with pictures of our wedding and other pictures of our married life.  (I think of it as the wall of Love -- god, I love that woman!)  When she went in a third time with the marriage license, the clerk told her that she would need to remove the license from the frame, as it had to be scanned and emailed to the state capitol.  She came back to the truck very upset (understandably so) and told me we had to remove the license from the frame.  Using my pocket knife I cut off the backing from the frame, bent the retainer clips up, removed the cardboard insert, and removed the license, which my wife then took into the office.  She finally managed to get her driver license.  Because it was somewhat late in the day (~ 12:30), we decided to do some grocery shopping.  We finally got home and ate lunch.

By the time we were finished with our errands and eating lunch, it was around 2:15.  I did not want to start digging on the pipe right then, but I hated to waste that time not using the excavator.  I decided I would try to remove the dirt above the pipe in the field where the pipe appeared to be leaking so that I would have less to do the next day.  I carefully dug the dirt across pipe, removing a small layer at a time, trying not to dig too deeply and thereby cut the pipe.  Then I noticed water bubbling up from the ground to my left toward the house.  I looked to the right and water was bubbling up from the ground as well.  I lifted up the bucket and noticed that I had snagged the water line with the bucket!  I went to the water meter and shut off the water.  I thought, "Oh, well, I guess I will start repairing the water line now."  While I was at Home Depot getting the excavator I had bought 20' of 1" PVC pipe along with several water cutoff valves (1" was the size of the pipe near the house).  But it wasn't until I looked at the pipe and discovered that the pipe was 1 1/2" that I knew I could not use the pipe that I had bought.  By that time the hardware stores in the area had closed, so my repair would need to wait until the next day.  I decided to go ahead and dig up the line so as to be ready to repair it early the next morning.  But that night we had no running water and so had to clean off using wash rags.

Pipe after lifting the bucket:


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

*Day 4, Saturday, May 30 - first attempt at repair.*

On Saturday I went to the hardware store and bought 40 feet (20 feet as spare) of PVC pipe, a cutoff valve, and couplers.  To keep the fittings from coming loose, I also bought 3 3' steel rods to place around the 3 joints I would have, along with clamps to hold them to the PVC pipe.  I put everything together, taking about 1/2 of the day to do it all.  I then turned on the water and checked for leaks.  No leaks.  We were able to take a shower that night.

Trench before getting started with repair: 

Repairs in place:    

*Day 5, Sunday, May 31 - second attempt at repair, part 1*

On Sunday I went to the trench to see if it was leaking.  The trench was half full of water.  Because the water level was over the pipes and fittings, I assumed that the fittings were leaking somehow.  With it being Sunday, the local hardware stores were closed.  I headed to Lowe's in Fort Smith to buy additional PVC pipe and fittings.  I also bought 2 10' galvanized pipe, as it was clear the steel rods were not stiff enough.  On the way through the gate, I checked the water meter and confirmed that there was a leak, as the meter was turning, so I turned off the water.  Once I got back from Lowe's and started to install the new PVC pipe to replace the pipe I installed on Saturday, I discovered that the PVC appeared not to be leaking.  Instead, because the new PVC pipe bowed, the old PVC to which I had tied the new PVC on the east end had slid forward and come loose from its neighbor!  So now, instead of having 20 feet of pipe to repair, I had 40' to repair!  Because I had some extra PVC pipe and couplings, I went ahead and dug up the additional 20' and replaced the old PVC and the now bent new PVC with 40' of new pipe.  But because I only had 20 feet of galvanized pipe, I dared not turn the water back on for fear that the unbraced PVC would bow again.  So no water that night.

Trench with water: 

Trench after baling out some of the water.  Notice bowed pipes: 

*Day 6, Monday, June 01 - second attempt at repair, part 2*

On Monday I went to the Booneville hardware store to buy new clamps and additional galvanized pipe.  I learned that the hardware store did not sell 10' sections of pipe, only 21'.  Since I could not carry 21' sections of pipe using only my truck but instead would have to get my 16' trailer, I decided instead to buy 4 6' sections of rebar, overlapping one end of the rebar with another, along with numerous clamps to hold them in place.  While there I also bought 10 8"x8"x16" and 5 4"x16"x16" concrete blocks to use for bracing the pipe.  Once I got home I clamped the rebar along the side of the pipe.  After letting the glue dry long enough, I turned on the water.  No leaks.  But later that evening, before going to bed, I went to check on the pipes reinforced by the rebar.  They had bowed just like my earlier attempt.  I went to the water meter to see if there was a leak.  There was.  So I turned off the water, leaving us with no running water for a second night in a row.

bowed pipes:


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

*Day 7, Tuesday, June 02 - third attempt at repair*

I removed the bowed section of PVC pipe, discovering in the process that an additional section of old PVC pipe had come loose.  So instead of 40' to repair, I now had 60'!  I decided to go to the hardware store taking my trailer so I could get the longer sections of pipe.  Before going, I decided to unload the concrete blocks so they wouldn't be in the way.  As I unloaded the blocks, I injured my back while picking up one of the 4"x16"x16" concrete blocks (which probably weigh around 100 lbs).  I knew that injury would not be good, but I was determined get the water line repaired.  At the hardware store I bought 3 21' sections of pipe (I wanted a spare section), along with more PVC pipe and couplings.  I got everything installed by mid afternoon.  After letting the glue dry, I turned on the water.  No leaks.  I waited another 2 hours and checked again.  Still no leaks.  Because the excavator was due back at Home Depot by 3 PM the next day, I decided that this time the repair had worked and started filling dirt back in.  Ordinarily I would not fill the dirt back in until I had given it 24 hours, but because the excavator was due back the next day and because I thought that having the dirt in place would help hold the pipes in place, I decided to go ahead.  I got about 10' of dirt filled back in when I got a call from the repair shop telling me my tractor was repaired.  It was 4:30 and they closed at 5.  I decided I wanted the tractor here right away; besides, the tractor could move dirt faster than the excavator.

So I went and got the tractor and brought it home.  I put the mower on the back to serve as ballast and put the loader bucket on the front and went down to continue moving dirt into the trench, this time starting at the other end, getting about 15' moved.  It was going so much faster, but I noticed that the engine was getting louder and louder.  Finally, it got so loud that I decided to head to the shop with it.  I got about 1/3 the way when the engine died, leaving the tractor stranded in the field (where it still sits).  If loudness is any indication, the tractor's engine died a painful death.  I decided to stop for the night.  At least we had running water.

*Day 8, Wednesday, June 03 - oh, no! more leaks!*

The next morning I checked to see if there were any leaks.  The trench was about 1/2 full of water, but there wasn't anything obvious.  I hoped that it was just ground water that had soaked in.  I went to the water meter to check, and it was just barely turning.  I decided that everything was fixed.  But as my Beautiful Gal drove me down to where the excavator was with me intending to drive it back to the house, as we got out I noticed water coming out of trench where I had piled the dirt at the east end.  Another stupid leak!  With 35' of pipe in the trench still uncovered, one would hope that the leak would happen there, where it would be easy to access.  Instead, it was right at the end of the trench where I had connected the new pipe to the old, where I had put 10' of dirt.  This meant that I would have to dig out the dirt again. Hours later I had dug out the dirt,  cut off the old parts of pipe, cleaned it up, put in a new section, and reglued everything.  After waiting 2 hours for the glue to dry, around 2:30 I turned on the water again.  There was another leak, but this time at the other end of the trench, under the dirt!  Again I dug out the dirt, and around 4:30 went and got more glue and clamps.  By this time my back was really hurting and I was so tired I didn't even want to try to repair the leak.  I went to bed early (even by my standards).  No running water.

Leak #1: 

Leak #2: 

Day 9, Thursday, June 04 - finally!

The next morning my back was still hurting.  Before I got started with fixing the pipe, my Beautiful Gal laid down the law and said that if the repair didn't work then we were going to call a plumber/construction company.  I agreed, as I didn't think my back would hold out much longer.  But I cut the pipe, spliced in a new section and glued it, then clamped the PVC pipe to the steel pipe.  After waiting for the glue to dry, I turned on the water again.  No leaks.  But after thinking the repairs were finalized only to be proven wrong, I did not want to take the excavator back that day.  So I left the trench open and waited to see if there were any more leaks.  I cleaned up my tools for the first time in over a week.  They were filthy.  We had running water and could take a hot shower.  Yay!

dirty tools: 

Day 10, Friday, June 05 - returning the excavator

The next morning, I checked the trench to see if there was water in it.  There was only a small amount, much lower than the pipes.  I went to the water meter to see if it was moving.  It was not moving at all.  So it appeared that where I started digging may have been where it was leaking before I started the repairs.  I then cleaned up the excavator and trailer and took it back.  I got home around 4 PM.

My back is still hurting, though not as bad.  I am just glad I got the water line fixed before my back gave out!  But I don't think I want to rent an excavator any time soon.


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## CntryBoy777

Well @Senile_Texas_Aggie ....I surely ain't "rolling" at ya...believe-you-me.....it's just that I've been there and done that....I've put tandem-jacked ruts in sand....somewhere on Cape Cod...turning around with a 53' trailer.....  .....bout 2am one morning I turned around on a very small private runway with a very narrow drive....the outside tires on all 4 tandems were off pavement to make the turn.......that was in NC....so, my hand is on your shoulder....but, one thing I learned....a transmission has a reverse gear in it and it can sure come in handy...........ya said ya was 50yards on the road....ya could backup real slow and saved time....but, ya would've missed out on the "Adventure".....


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## CntryBoy777

Did ya use schedule 40 pvc?.....if ya have to get the 21' sticks and aren't pulling the trlr to get it....ya can always buy a connector and cut it in half....course something to cut it with is on the truck...right?....glad ya found the problem.....sure hope the tractor is okay...........and hope ya ain't too stove up from the work.....


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## Bruce

Wow, you have some serious fortitude STA. I think I would be pondering the possibility of sleeping face down in the trench after the 4th leak. I guess that on the plus side you didn't need to dig up the pipe in a lot of places, install shutoffs and repeat until you found the leak. I sure hope that is the last one you have in this lifetime!

And I really hope your tractor is OK!!!!


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## farmerjan

Call the people that repaired the tractor and tell them to come get it.  It is on them because even if your luck is not that good, you did not have it back long enough for anything to have gone wrong...

Hate to say it but it sounds like my subaru saga......


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## Mike CHS

Your adventures do give everyone  a laugh but it is only because we have all been there.


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch

I'm glad you fixed the leak and I hope your tractor can be fixed! You had a very busy week.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Wow, you have some serious fortitude STA. I think I would be pondering the possibility of sleeping face down in the trench after the 4th leak. I guess that on the plus side you didn't need to dig up the pipe in a lot of places, install shutoffs and repeat until you found the leak. I sure hope that is the last one you have in this lifetime!
> 
> And I really hope your tractor is OK!!!!



I hope I never have to work on a water line again!



farmerjan said:


> Call the people that repaired the tractor and tell them to come get it. It is on them because even if your luck is not that good, you did not have it back long enough for anything to have gone wrong...
> 
> Hate to say it but it sounds like my subaru saga......



When I took the tractor to them back in late April and they had disassembled it, they then told me that I could either have them do an entire overhaul for around $5000, or I could have them replace the rod bearings for around $1500, but that they would NOT warranty it.  They thought that merely replacing the rod bearings would be enough, but I would be the one taking that chance.  I decided to have them replace the rod bearings only, taking the chance that would fix the problem.  (It ended up costing $1900+.)  When I picked it up, they had tested it and noticed that the PTO would not even generate enough torque to test on the dynamometer.  So when I got it home and it failed within 30 minutes, I figured that it may be time to get a new tractor.  I plan to talk to them on Monday but figure that the tractor is toast and I will need to buy another one.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## thistlebloom




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## farmerjan

Sorry, I thought you had taken it to a different place, not back to the original place to do a "lesser" job.  If the PTO wasn't showing then it was a wasted job all around.  Don't know what to tell you now.


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## drstratton

What an overwhelming experience, my body & back are aching just thinking about it. I'm so glad that you finally managed to fix your leak. Such sad news about your tractor! I'm just so sorry that you had such a horrendous week and hope that your back is starting to mend!


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## Baymule

You remind me of the song on the old Hee-Haw TV show

Gloom, despair and agony on me
Deepest dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck
I'd have no luck at all
Gloom, despair and agony on me!

Since my husband's "fix-it" consists of a hammer and roll of duct tape, we are fairly safe from such mis-adventures. I bet your Beautiful Bride never lets you touch another PVC pipe ever again! Hope your back feels better and that your tractor makes a nice yard ornament. Time for a new one.


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch

I would have the shop look at it and at least see if that's the part that failed before starting to shop for the new tractor. With the work you've been giving them you'd think they would at least do that for you.


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## Ridgetop

STA:  We need to have DNA testing done - you are definitely a genetic relative of the Ridgetop bunch!  What a horrible 20 days!  However, it is easy to see why your Beautiful Gal loves you so much.

So glad to have you back with another of your adventures.  It gives me hope after our own misadventures.

DH says he hopes you put in Schedule 80 pipe which is much thicker and harder to bend or flex.  Did you put in a couple of T's where you can eventually hook another water run if you need it for animals later?  Also, DH says that if you take a hollow pipe and put it on the water pipe you should able to hear the water running when you turn off the house water.   It can show you where the leak is.  He did not do that with our exterior water leak though, so . . . ?  He assures me that it was because he knew where the leak was and also it was only in a 30' span of pipe where the tree fell over from the house to the barn.    While digging up the area around the tree to install our raised garden boxes, DS1 found the old galvanized feed pipe.  It was bent up in a semi circle where the giant tree root had forced it up and caused the leak!

Glad you have water again.  You should see a substantial decrease in your bill next month.  I would make it a routine to check the water usage every month now to catch any raise in usage from future leaks since whoever laid in your pipes did not seam to do a very good job.  Also, on your water line map, you can now mark off the places you have I agree with everyone to have the repair shop look at the tractor again.  If they can fix it for $3000, having already paid $1900 for the new rod bearings, maybe it would pay you to do that since you have all the attachments for your current tractor and are familiar with it.

Hope your back gets better!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Ridgetop said:


> STA: We need to have DNA testing done - you are definitely a genetic relative of the Ridgetop bunch!



Could be!  Do you suppose a member of your family attended Texas A&M and contaminated the blood line? 



Ridgetop said:


> DH says he hopes you put in Schedule 80 pipe which is much thicker and harder to bend or flex. Did you put in a couple of T's where you can eventually hook another water run if you need it for animals later? Also, DH says that if you take a hollow pipe and put it on the water pipe you should able to hear the water running when you turn off the house water. It can show you where the leak is.



I have never heard of schedule 80 pipe!  I wish I had known that before I installed the schedule 40 pipe.  And, no, I did not install a couple of T's.  It never occurred to me.  The only thing I installed besides the pipe itself along with its bracing was a cutoff valve.  Thanks for the tip about listening with a hollow pipe.  If it starts leaking again, I will try that.



Larsen Poultry Ranch said:


> I would have the shop look at it and at least see if that's the part that failed before starting to shop for the new tractor. With the work you've been giving them you'd think they would at least do that for you.





Ridgetop said:


> I agree with everyone to have the repair shop look at the tractor again. If they can fix it for $3000, having already paid $1900 for the new rod bearings, maybe it would pay you to do that since you have all the attachments for your current tractor and are familiar with it.



Yesterday I talked to the mechanics at the shop where it was overhauled and told them what happened.  After hearing about it, they said that it would probably require replacing the engine, which would be hard to do, as that engine is no longer manufactured and I have been unable to locate a rebuilt engine, only used ones.  The deal with buying a used one is that the engine may be in similar condition to mine.  So they guessed it could be quite a bit higher than $5000.00, more like $10,000.  Plus, the PTO needs repair, which would be quite expensive due to it being a hydraulic PTO.  They advised to cut my losses and buy another tractor.  So I am looking for another one at the moment.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch

I hope you can find a tractor that works Maybe you can sell the broken tractor for parts and at least make some of your money back.


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## Ridgetop

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Could be! Do you suppose a member of your family attended Texas A&M and contaminated the blood line?



Not contaminated!  Added PIZZAZ!

Ouch!  That is a lot of money!  
Good thing you filed for the Social Security - you can save up for a new tractor.


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## Bruce

What's he going to do while he saves up?? Lotta land there with no tractor 😢


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Larsen Poultry Ranch said:


> I hope you can find a tractor that works Maybe you can sell the broken tractor for parts and at least make some of your money back.



That is currently what I am planning on doing, although I may find so little market for the parts.



Ridgetop said:


> Not contaminated! Added PIZZAZ!



Texas Aggie joke: What do you get when you cross a chimpanzee with a Texas Aggie?  A retarded monkey!



Bruce said:


> What's he going to do while he saves up?? Lotta land there with no tractor 😢



I am currently considering a Kioti RX7320 cab tractor that is for sale at the dealer where I had my tractor worked on.  It is more tractor than I really need but I am sure that I can put it to work.  The only problem is the cost: > $40K.  Ouch!  That is why I have not pulled the trigger on the purchase.  But I will probably be buying a tractor soon.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## rachels.haven

AW, but I like @Senile_Texas_Aggie . Your adventures remind me of how home improvement usually goes for my husband, and it makes me feel better because YOU are still trucking, so he can still carry on, right? (although I admit I've called in the professionals a few times and banned him from ladders and roofs higher than a certain amount of feet) Your adventures are very real for me. And my guy is smart-he's like a walking encyclopedia/all things math science text. But nothing comes intuitively for him in the physical realm. He has to learn it all. You're learning. Your wife may have to ban you from ladders or haul you out of the mud and say no more to save your life or something similar, but you will learn and grow. You're very ambitious and determined and that seems to drag you through.


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## Ridgetop

Kyotis are nice, but expensive.  DS3 just bought one - he uses his tractor constantly (previously ours but too large for our property) and it finally bit the dust.  He said his new tractor cost a lot.  I didn't want to know any more because I fear DH will insist he needs one NOW.  When we were visiting DS3 I saw DH caressing the tractor.    I promised him one when we move but here on these slopes it just would not be very usable..


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I am currently considering a Kioti RX7320 cab tractor that is for sale at the dealer


That is a WHOLE lotta tractor, 73HP, 63 HP PTO! I don't know how many hours are on it, what year or attachments but my guess is that price is pretty good. Tractorhouse has a new 2020 listed in Iowa for $47K, only attachment listed is the loader and bucket (nearly 7 feet wide).

In case it is a consideration:

Weight:5600 to 6162 pounds


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## Ridgetop

I asked DS3 what Kyoti tractor he just bought and he said it is a DK4210 With the front end loader and backhoe.  It was $39,250 new.  I think he said it will take most of his other Farmall attachments that he bought, i.e. post hole digger, hay forks, mower, etc.  He loves it but has only had it a couple of months so the honeymoon glow is still on it.

If you can get a more powerful one for $40,000.  That sounds like a good price.  Is it new or used?


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## CntryBoy777

Sorry to hear about the tractor "woes", but for what it is worth....my opinion about the matter is this....with the "picture" that is before us, I just wouldb't want to be "obligated" to such a debt at this uncertain time....it isn't like ya will be using it for any "return" to help pay the note and something else is....things with high "price tags" are not "cheap" to have fixed or worked on....and the price of the parts and equipment seem to "mirror" the difference in purchase prices....will the equipment ya already have work with the new one or not?....if so, then will the tractor people's warranty cover the use of off brand impliments being attached if something breaks?.....will anyone closeby work on it?....ya certainly don't want the cheapest, but should be a mid-range, mid-grade ones to chose that won't take ya to tbe "cleaners"....things aren't made to "last" these days and times....it is a "disposible society"..... 
This is totally my opinion and the things that would cross my mind, if I was "standing in your shoes".....just sayin'.....


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Sorry to just now respond to all of the posts.  I left early this morning and am only now ready to respond to the posts.



rachels.haven said:


> AW, but I like @Senile_Texas_Aggie . Your adventures remind me of how home improvement usually goes for my husband, and it makes me feel better because YOU are still trucking, so he can still carry on, right? (although I admit I've called in the professionals a few times and banned him from ladders and roofs higher than a certain amount of feet) Your adventures are very real for me. And my guy is smart-he's like a walking encyclopedia/all things math science text. But nothing comes intuitively for him in the physical realm. He has to learn it all. You're learning. Your wife may have to ban you from ladders or haul you out of the mud and say no more to save your life or something similar, but you will learn and grow. You're very ambitious and determined and that seems to drag you through.



Thank you, Miss @rachels.haven!  Those are very kind words, only some of which I deserve.  I hope I can help others, if nothing more than in how NOT to do things (like fix a water line)!  Some things I am afraid to tackle, and other things I am not (but probably ought to be). But being retired enables me to usually take my time (the water line had a sense of urgency), and I can learn as I go. This forum helps a good bit, as well as YouTube. I like helping folks, and I appreciate it when folks like those on this forum help me.



Bruce said:


> That is a WHOLE lotta tractor, 73HP, 63 HP PTO! I don't know how many hours are on it, what year or attachments but my guess is that price is pretty good. Tractorhouse has a new 2020 listed in Iowa for $47K, only attachment listed is the loader and bucket (nearly 7 feet wide).
> 
> In case it is a consideration:
> Weight:5600 to 6162 pounds



It is more tractor than I really need at the moment.  The only reason I am considering it is that it is the only cab tractor at that dealership for that price.  (The other cab tractors they have are much bigger Ag tractors -- > 100 hp and much bigger price tags.)  

Weight is a consideration, as my current trailer is rated at 7000 lbs -- 3000 lbs on each of the 2 tandem axles and 1000 lbs of tongue weight.  But considering that the dealership is only 5 miles away, unless the tractor becomes disabled, I could drive it there.



Ridgetop said:


> If you can get a more powerful one for $40,000. That sounds like a good price. Is it new or used?



It is new.  I wish I could find a used tractor that I know is good with no major problems.  There are lots of them out there, but the uncertainty of buying a lemon has me cautious.  I would really hate to spend $20-25K on a used tractor with no warranty and 3 months later discover it has major problems.



CntryBoy777 said:


> with the "picture" that is before us, I just wouldb't want to be "obligated" to such a debt at this uncertain time....it isn't like ya will be using it for any "return" to help pay the note and something else is....



Wise words, Mr @CntryBoy777.  Believe me, I have thought about it.

Early this morning I went to the dealership to talk to the mechanics in the shop about Kiotis versus other brands and how reliable they are.  They are an honest bunch of folks and would shoot straight with me.  They said that Kioti is just as good as the other brands.  They said that the different tractors they get come in waves, it seems.  One week it is all green (John Deere, which they don't sell but they do service, or Duetch Farr (sp?)), red (Case IH, Massey Ferguson, and McCormick), orange (Kubota and Kioti), then other models.  So I felt better about the reliability of Kioti.

As I was approaching the shop to talk to the mechanics I ran into the sales rep (the owner's son) and told him I would be starting the paperwork to get a loan approved for the Kioti RX7320.  When I cam back out, the sales rep wasn't around, so I walked out front of the dealership and saw several Kioti DK5510s, all of which were open station.  I looked up the price of those and saw that they were 55 hp and around $28K or so.  I thought, "Dang it, STA, you shouldn't be spending so much money on a tractor!  After all, you are not using it to make money, just using it to improve what we already have."  So I went back home to do research on the DK5510s.

When I got home, my Beautiful Gal was surprised that I was home so soon.  I told her what I had learned and my doubts about the bigger tractor.  She told me that she insisted that I get a cab tractor, as I am prone to skin cancer (definitely true), and that I have become more susceptible to heat exhaustion (lately true).  She did not want me out working on the far side of the property in the heat with no way to get relief from the heat, so I needed to get a cab tractor with A/C.  I told her about hating to spend that much money.  She said that in 10 years I will be 78 years old and if I wanted a toy tractor it was my decision but she thought I should get a more capable one.  After thinking it over I decided that I would pay cash for the RX7320, so I withdrew enough money from my IRA.  That way I don't have to worry about making payments or anything else.  I just hope I don't regret spending that much money, as we may need it for other things (like food!).

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

Listen to your wife, she is right. You need that cab tractor. If you need food, just that tractor to plow up a garden! LOL


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## Mike CHS

Get the most tractor that you can for what you need.  I put 350 hours on my Kubota the first two years I had it but I haven't put 50 hours on it for the last two years.  That being said, there are things that wouldn't get done if I didn't have it.


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## Bruce

Before I read your last post I was assuming you wanted a cab tractor because you live where it gets too dang hot to be outside most of the day without A/C. The skin cancer thing is an even better reason. I take it the price gets you a loader with bucket and nothing else. You can use your grapple (and forks if you have them). It is a Cat II 3 point but you can use your Cat I implements though I'd be careful not to work them too hard, that is one powerful tractor compared to mine (twice the HP in fact) and mine doesn't know its own strength. I managed to bend the top of the "guard" on the pallet fork rack just tilting them down to dump a big rock last summer. I hadn't noticed that the guard started pressing into a tree as I tilted and lifted. I think I might be able to push it back (sort of) into shape with a hydraulic jack, no way I could do it by hand.


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## chickens really

Interesting journal! 
I don't have anything to say about tractors though. 
Have a great day.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> I take it the price gets you a loader with bucket and nothing else...   It is a Cat II 3 point but you can use your Cat I implements though I'd be careful not to work them too hard, that is one powerful tractor compared to mine (twice the HP in fact) and mine doesn't know its own strength...



That's correct.  I am having a third function valve installed so I can operate my grapple and tree shear.  All of my implements are Cat I.  My NH TC48DA was a Cat II as well, but much less horsepower.  I have a feeling I may be replacing the mower soon after getting the tractor.



chickens really said:


> Interesting journal!
> I don't have anything to say about tractors though.
> Have a great day.



Thank you, Miss @chickens really!  Read my journal whenever something gets you down and you need some comic relief.  And you might want to learn about tractors.  You have a beautiful place and may decide that a tractor would be quite useful to help keep it that way.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I have a feeling I may be replacing the mower soon after getting the tractor.


Nah, just be careful with it. The only real reason to replace it would be if you want to get bigger one that this new tractor can handle. Maybe a nice batwing like TTWT showed a while back. I bet you could pull a really good size one.


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## farmerjan

Batwing  mowers/bushhogs are real nice..... cover alot of ground.... BUT  you have to be real careful to watch a much bigger area for rocks and ledges.  You can raise the sides up a bit, like to do the sides of a drive path like we have into and out of fields.... but you have to be VERY EXTRA careful about any objects that might fly up and out.  They are not as maneuverable in tight places.  
We have a 15 ft batwing that is absolutely great at a couple of places.  But I mostly prefer the single large bushhog for doing most of the pastures because I like to get up close and around the rocks and ledges.  I think it is 8 or 9 feet.  That is plenty for me except in the couple of big pastures where there are few rocks.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I doubt that I will ever get a batwing mower, unless the guy who is currently leasing the pastures decides not to lease them any more, and even then I would probably stay with a single deck.  I do try to be careful with the mower and not intentionally abuse it, but as we have cleared trees and bushes around the pasture edges I have sometime left stumps that are too tall.  Because of a lack of a tractor, the grass and small shrubs have started growing up around the pastures again, which hides a lot of the stumps.  I expect that I will be breaking a lot of shear pins on the mower.  I just hope the gear box holds up.


----------



## chickens really

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> That's correct.  I am having a third function valve installed so I can operate my grapple and tree shear.  All of my implements are Cat I.  My NH TC48DA was a Cat II as well, but much less horsepower.  I have a feeling I may be replacing the mower soon after getting the tractor.
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you, Miss @chickens really!  Read my journal whenever something gets you down and you need some comic relief.  And you might want to learn about tractors.  You have a beautiful place and may decide that a tractor would be quite useful to help keep it that way.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


My husband keeps talking about getting a small tractor for around here. It would come in handy for some projects we have.


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## Ridgetop

WOW!  Look how far you have come STA - remember when you were discussing getting a tractor with Greybeard?  Now you just reel off things like grapples, third function gears, batwng mowers, forks and tree shears, etc. not to mentions horsepower and torq!!!  

Can't wait to hear what all you do with this new tractor.  Paying cash is a good idea.  Who needs food?  Besides with a tractor like that you can put in a ginormous garden, build a chicken coop, rabbit shed, and be completely self supporting.  If you have to dig up any more water lines, though, you might want to use a shovel instead of this tractor. LOL

Your Beautiful Gal is a good woman!


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## Bruce

chickens really said:


> My husband keeps talking about getting a small tractor for around here. It would come in handy for some projects we have.


What projects and what size? You'll likely find more projects once you have it than you are thinking of now.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Ridgetop said:


> Look how far you have come STA - remember when you were discussing getting a tractor with Greybeard?



Yes, I do.  I am very appreciative of the help and guidance he and others here on the forum provided.  I remember posting on my journal about an ad for a tractor that had terms I had no idea what they meant, such as "R4 Ind".  I remember thinking, "Does that mean the tractor has 4 rear tires?  Does it mean that the tractor has independent rear suspension?  I have never heard of a tractor with independent rear suspension."  I think it was Mr. @Bruce who then told me that it meant the kind of tire that was on the tractor, the R4 being the tread pattern and the "Ind" meaning industrial applications.  (Thanks for that explanation, Mr. Bruce.)



chickens really said:


> My husband keeps talking about getting a small tractor for around here. It would come in handy for some projects we have.





Bruce said:


> What projects and what size? You'll likely find more projects once you have it than you are thinking of now.



Miss @chickens really, you would probably be amazed to find out just how much more work you can get done with a tractor and some implements/attachments.  For example, having a good mower for the tractor means that you can cut grass a lot faster in your pasture, and if you get a more robust mower, you can easily cut down small saplings as well.  Having a front end loader with a bucket, you can move dirt, gravel, and wood chips around a lot easier.  If you get a tree shear (very pricey but highly useful if you have a lot of trees), you can cut down larger trees and tree limbs, instead of having to fight with the trees to cut with a chainsaw or pole saw.  If you get a grapple, you can carry a lot of items that are not easily moved with a loader bucket, such as tree limbs, rocks, and other debris.  If you get a wood chipper for it, you can make all of the wood chips you could use from the trees and tree limbs you cut down.  If you have a gravel driveway, you can easily maintain it with box blade or land plane.  You could get a backhoe attachment if you need to dig up stumps or dig trenches (very pricey but quite useful for some projects.)  You can talk to Miss @Baymule, who owns a subcompact Kubota that I think she calls Marigold, that she and her DH use for their farm.  Mr. @Bruce owns a larger Mahindra which he uses to mow his pastures, pallet forks to carry logs out of the woods, and a backhoe attachment which he used to dredge his pond during a drought a couple of years ago.  Mr @Mike CHS owns a tractor that he uses for mowing areas that his sheep can't access, and for other things.

If you want to watch a couple of YouTube videos, I recommend "GP Outdoors", who owns a B2601 Kubota subcompact tractor and does all kinds of things with it.  Outdoors with the Morgans also uses several different tractors and implements.  (It was on their channel that I saw just how useful a grapple could be and decided to get one.)  If you want to learn tractor basics, watch Tractor Mike.  Then you and your husband will have an idea just what you can do with a tractor.

------------

I forgot to mention earlier, but last week I bought another push mower to replace the one that died.  I finally gave up on the shop where I took the previous mower.  It seems he is swamped with work and he has still yet to look at the mower to see if it can be repaired.  The new mower is almost the same as the previous one, except that the gas tank is smaller.  Normally my Beautiful Gal mows around the shrubs and other obstacles while I mow the main part of the yard with the zero turn radius (ZTR) mower.  When my gal stopped sooner than I expected, I asked if there were something wrong.  She said she ran out of gas.  So I filled the mower with gas.  Then I asked her if she wanted to use the ZTR mower and I use the push mower.  To my surprise, she said yes.  After a few moments of hesitancy as she learned the controls, she then started mowing the yard with surprising skill.  I think I may have lost my job on the ZTR and have taken over the push mower job!  

The faucet in the kitchen has needed replacing for a while now, so yesterday I did that.  I read the instructions (I know, I may have to surrender my man card for doing that) but I think I would have been better off if I had not.  I removed the old faucet (a 3 hole style one), which was a little ornery but not too bad, and put in the new faucet (a 1 hole style with a 3 hole cover plate).  Once I finished, I discovered that I had a gasket left over.  After looking at the diagram, it appeared that the gasket was for the faucet where it mounted to the sink.  Muttering to myself, I took it all apart and then tried to put the gasket on the mounting plate.  It wouldn't fit.  After looking at the diagram again, I saw where the gasket was for a 1 hole mounting configuration, but not the 3 hole configuration.  I had done it right the first time!    So I put it all back together.  At least it was easier the second time.

I may need to buy a new trailer to haul the new tractor with.  Yesterday I measured the width of the trailer from inside to inside of the rails and it was 76".  Kioti on their web site says the tractor is 77.2".  I plan to go to the dealer today and measure the tractor to confirm, but if the tractor won't fit, then when I buy a new trailer I will get one with a higher GVWR.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Ridgetop

The more equipment we get the more we need to take care of the first equipment!  You will want to build a nice new tractor shed to house your beautiful brand new tractor!  Can't wait for a photo!

DH's little tractor is completely too small for as much work as we do, plus it does not have 4WD which we need on our slope.  His big blue tractor (which DS3 worked to death) was too large for the steep slopes on our property but did have 4wd.  DH really wants a new tractor.  I am not sure what size we need here, but I don't want to get one until we know about our moving situation.  And I won't agree to finance one.  

Our little Kubota is too light in the back to do a lot.  DS1 gave DH a set of hay forks for his tractor.  DS1, DS2, and I both laughed heartily when DH proposed to move hay with them.  We pointed out that when moving heavy objects in the past someone had to stand on the back of the tractor to keep the rear wheels on the ground!  DS3 who used the little tractor since junior high (it was his first experience behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle) told DH that he would made a weight box of some kind to balance it.  He called the other day and told him that is was built and ready to pick up.  DH manages to do quite a bit of stuff with the little tractor though and having the weight box will allow him to do more.  I wonder if he could use it to drive in fence posts in the front field when he puts up his fence??

A couple of weeks ago he was doing some work and got the tractor stuck down the back hill.  I was horrified that he was even using it on that hill since it is so steep.  He thought he might have to pull it back up the hill with the truck.   DS1 and DH got it back up, although I am not sure if they just waited until the ground was drier or used the truck. Scary for me since one of DH relatives was killed when his tractor turned over on him.  Tractors on slopes worry me, particularly after it ran away with me one day.  Broke a shoulder being thrown off a bicycle, run away with on a tractor, horses are much safer!


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> If you want to watch a couple of YouTube videos, I recommend


I would add to that: Tractor Time With Tim, especially if you are thinking about a sub-compact. He has a lot of videos showing things being done with a small tractor that I wouldn't have thought possible and I've learned a lot of things including things I would never have thought of on my own. Very good for the first time tractor owner.

And a buying suggestion, I didn't know about extendable lower links when I bought my tractor. They would be useful. I do have a Quick Hitch but went with a cheap one from Harbor Freight. I don't know if it is a bit off spec or my flail is but I have to be REALLY accurate to pick up and put down the flail. I also had to buy a "deeper" top hook from Amazon to even use the QH with my rake, there isn't enough space between the back of the QH and the top of the rake even though it is supposed to be QH compatible. Could be that attaching/detaching the flail with extendable lower links  would actually be easier than the Quick Hitch I have. @Mike CHS has Pat's Quick Hitch which are two parts that connect to the lift arms and those act like the lower connections on a Quick Hitch but you have to attach the top link separately. These, combined with extendable arms would probably be as easy, if not easier than MY QH with MY flail. 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> but if the tractor won't fit, then when I buy a new trailer I will get one with a higher GVWR.


Make sure the combination doesn't go into the "must have a CDL to use" weight range. 



Ridgetop said:


> Our little Kubota is too light in the back to do a lot.


It needs one or more of the following (you might want to see the recent video by Messicks):

filled rear tires
rear wheel weights
something on the 3 point
With regard to #3, I figure my 750# flail is a better "weight box" than a weight box since it has an actual functional purpose other than being really heavy. It also doesn't stick out the back much farther than a weight box. You can also get a HeavyHitch weight bracket for the 3 pt but again, it has no value other than weight (and the cost of those can add up!) but it will stick out the back less than a weight box or a flail. All will stick out substantially less than a rotary mower.


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## farmerjan

@Senile_Texas_Aggie .... the new tractor is becoming a whole new "tractor package".  But if you can sell the smaller trailer then at least you will have one that can haul bigger and heavier stuff....


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @bethh and Miss @Ridgetop,

Mr. @Bruce offered excellent advice.  I forgot to mention about getting extendable lower link arms.  I was lucky enough to buy a tractor that had them before I even knew they existed.  Regarding ballast, Mr. Bruce is right as well.  If you have a piece of equipment such as a short mower or a box blade, that can serve as ballast.  If the weight box doesn't work for you, Miss @Ridgetop, then you can make your own.  Sawing with Sandy has a YouTube video where he made his own using a barrel and concrete for about $100:






Today I will go to the tractor place and put down a deposit on the tractor.  I don't think I will pay for it entirely or take delivery until the 3rd function valve is installed, as my most pressing need for a tractor is to do some grapple work.  I figure that if I took delivery before the 3rd function valve is installed then they wouldn't be in as big a hurry to order the valve and get it installed than they would if a sale was waiting for it.  Then later today I plan to go get a new trailer.  I am thinking of an 18' or 20' length by 80"+ wide trailer that has a GVWR of 10,000 lbs.

I will take pictures once I get everything delivered.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Yep, don't pay for or take delivery until all the parts are on it!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Yesterday I left early to put down a deposit on the tractor and then go buy a trailer.  After getting to the dealership, they told me that I didn't need to put down a deposit, since I resided near by.  They had already ordered the 3rd function valve on Friday and expected it to arrive this Wednesday (tomorrow), and should have the tractor ready by Saturday.  Regarding a trailer, the dealership sells trailers as well.  Although they did not have an appropriate size trailer there on their lot, a trailer of sufficient GVWR is expected to arrive in a couple of weeks.  The price they quoted seemed quite reasonable.  Since the dealership is only about 5 miles from our house, once they get the tractor ready, I may simply drive the tractor to our house and then get a trailer later.

Once I get the tractor, I expect to do the 50 hour service a couple of weeks after getting it, as I have A LOT of work that has piled up over the past 2 months: picking up trees and tree limbs I cut down before my tractor died, burning brush, mowing, moving a lot of dirt to improve the approaches to the two bridges I built in the unimproved pasture area, etc.  Boy, I didn't know just how much I would miss having a tractor!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Mike CHS

I don't use mine a lot but there are quite a few things that would take a whole lot more time and effort without it.


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## thistlebloom

We are still using our neighbors tractor. After the buildings are up (today!) dh is going to grade around the perimeter of each building and fill in the big divots from having the trees pulled. It's amazing how much can be accomplished in an hour with a tractor, versus days without.
Looking forward to seeing your new tractor, STA. I'm excited for you!


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Once I get the tractor, I expect to do the 50 hour service a couple of weeks after getting it,


The parts guy at the dealer I got my tractor from was really surprised to see me in for the 50 hour parts (filters) after a week and a half. Said he'd never seen anyone put 50 hours on a tractor so fast. But I was digging that dried pond and expected it was going to start raining any day, had to get it done. Then it still didn't rain for a month. 

I just did the 200 hour hydraulic fluid and front axle change last week, had the tractor about 20 months. New hydraulic filters due in another 100 hours and oil & filter change in another 150 hours. Don't look forward to the hydraulic filters, especially the one beside the left rear tire. If I remember right the big issue is the frame for the backhoe, I think that filter would be a lot easier to access if one didn't have the backhoe option. I would bet the dealership puts the tractor up and removes that wheel to get the filter off. I could probably do that since I could use the BH stabilizers to lift the rear of the tractor and then get some stands underneath ... but then I'd probably never be able to get that fluid wheel back on. WAY heavy!


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## farmerjan

I can imagine that you did use that tractor that much @Bruce when you were working so diligently to get the pond dug.  And it served you well and the progress was very measurable.  Sure, it didn't rain very soon after, but if you had put it off, it would have been a downpour that would have stopped everything.  It is like us, we got all that hay made by tedding on Friday and raked Sat morning and baled by 3:30 pm Sat aft.... got a 20 sprinkle shower and then even some sun on Sunday. But if we had left it, we would have gotten an inch Sat aft.  It all worked out. 
I'll bet that alot of their tractor sales go to "weekend users" rather than like you are retired, with "day time" to use it and a specific plan of action in mind.


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## Bruce

True. The dealer had a location 2 towns north, about 11 miles from me and another 3 towns south 20 miles. The consolidated in a new location a couple of miles from the south one. Way more ag up here, way more sales to landscapers down there in the more populated area. 49K people in this county, 165K in the other one. So if I need them to pick up the tractor for some sort of service, I have to pay for twice as many miles as if they still had the north location. Oh well.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Well, the urgency to get my new tractor has gone down some.  The folks who lease my fields came yesterday and mowed.  I told them about all of the burn piles and tree limbs along the edges of the pastures, and if they were willing to wait a week I would have all of that picked up and burned.  They decided that they would just drive around the debris, as they needed the tractors to rake and bale some fields that they had cut nearby and didn't want to remove the mowers only to have to put them back on again.  As far as I know I will still be getting the tractor this Saturday or Monday but I no longer feel the pressure to get going with it.


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## Ridgetop

You can take your time getting used to the new tractor.  That is a good thing.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Yesterday I had planned to get my truck serviced, as I am well past the 40,000 mile service mark.  When I called to make an appointment, they were booked up yesterday, so I have to go in later this morning.  So I decided to move the concrete blocks underneath the water cutoff valve on the water line so it would be ready to have me start filling in the trench with dirt once I get my tractor.  I wanted concrete blocks under the shutoff valve in case I run over with the tractor the casing from the top of the ground down to the water line and valve.   Afterward I had planned to go measure the cross tie bridges to ensure that they were wide enough to handle the tractor, and if not then prepare to widen or replace them.  When I raised the water line up in order to position the concrete blocks under the valve, the pipes came loose from the valve and sprayed me with water!  Oh, brother!  So I changed my plans and replaced the cutoff valve with another one and spliced in a short section of pipe.  This time I used my rubber mallet to ensure I had seated the valve and joints together.  It is probably a good thing that I got showered like that, as I knew that the line to the valve on one side wasn't sealed very well, as that side was leaking very slowly (dripping about a drop every 3 seconds or so), and almost certainly would have come loose once I put the dirt on top of the pipe.  Fortunately it only took about 2 1/2 hours to repair the line, 2 hours of which was waiting for the glue to dry.

In case you'd like to get a better idea of the tractor that I will soon get, below is a YouTube video of Kapper from Kapper Outdoors YouTube, who bought a Kioti RX7320 almost identical to mine:

Senile Texas Aggie


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## frustratedearthmother

Congrats on your new tractor - it's beautiful!  (I have a little tractor envy  )   Good catch on the water pipes.  Hope this ends your water line saga...


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## CntryBoy777

I was wondering....do ya use the cleaner, primer, and rain or shine blue cement?.....this is what I use on every connection and have never had the difficulties ya seem to have been having....the cleaner is important, especially on pipes carrying pressure...it takes the slick finish off the pipe for a solid weld with the cement...the primer prepares the surface for the cement...and the blue, rain or shine, cement will set wet or dry....when ya make the connection ya have about 15-20 seconds to adjust before it begins to set...if ya have a good seal there will be a solid blue ring seen around the connection....  ....the tractor looks like a real workhorse!!....I know ya will certainly enjoy using it...


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## Bruce

Looks like you better read the operating manual before you get in the tractor!



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I changed my plans and replaced the cutoff valve with another one and spliced in a short section of pipe.


I think you'll soon earn an honorary plumbing degree!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

CntryBoy777 said:


> do ya use the cleaner, primer, and rain or shine blue cement?



Yes, I do use those.  I use the primer liberally, covering every part that will be glued together.  Then I cover everything with the rain or shine blue glue.  I almost always use a fresh can of glue, as I have learned that older glue tends not to hold as good.  I think what I have been doing wrong for so long is that I have not been seating the PVC pieces fully.  Until recently I would push the two pieces together by hand as close together as I can, using a twisting motion when possible.  But recently I have learned that the pieces often are not seating entirely when I used a rubber mallet to see if I could drive them closer together, and I could.  So now that I use the rubber mallet to drive the pieces together, maybe they will hold better.



Bruce said:


> Looks like you better read the operating manual before you get in the tractor!



That is one of two things I plan to do when I get the tractor before taking it out into the wild.  The other is to check every bolt and nut on the tractor to ensure they are tight.



Bruce said:


> I think you'll soon earn an honorary plumbing degree!



I can believe it, but it will probably be on how NOT to do plumbing!

Yesterday before getting my truck serviced, I measured the bridge I built over the the ditch so that I can get into the overgrown pasture areas.  This is my only bridge over that ditch, so I need to ensure it will work.  It proved to be narrower than the tractor by about 4 inches (outside of rear tractor tires compared to outside edges of the bridge).  While I could theoretically drive over the bridge, I fear that with the weight of the tractor on the outer two cross ties, there is a good chance that one or both of the cross ties could roll, and I could end up with a tire off the bridge hanging down.  So I plan to widen the bridge and to strengthen the other bridges I have already built so I can move them to other areas in need of a bridge.

The parts for the 3rd function valve for the tractor have not come in yet, so it will be next week at the earliest before I get it.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> So now that I use the rubber mallet to drive the pieces together, maybe they will hold better.


Might be of value to use a permanent marker to make a line where the inserted pipe will be fully seated. Then you will KNOW if it is all the way in. 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> The other is to check every bolt and nut on the tractor to ensure they are tight.


Especially the wheel bolts. Though when the bolts on mine came loose I could swear I had already checked them with the torque wrench. Maybe I missed one wheel? Seems unlikely and all the other bolts were still tight. Is a puzzlement.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I thought I would post a little something today, since it has been awhile.

First, the Sahara dust has been quite noticeable the past couple of days.  The worst so far was yesterday, when we could no longer see the mountains, except for the nearest peak, which is only a couple of miles away.  When looking west of the house to the woods and ridge which rises up, a distance of only about 200 yards, the haze was still noticeable.  Fortunately we have not had to work in it.

The 3rd function valve for the tractor finally came in late Friday, so I am supposed to pick up the tractor Monday afternoon.  I can hardly wait to get it home and put it to work!



farmerjan said:


> I realize you are a more "scientific type person" than some others of us, but please don't discount the dowser's input. They are highly relied upon and regarded in many places in this country for being able to find water and for bringing in wells etc. They have been used often here in Va for finding water. If he says that is where the water line, I would bet a paycheck that he is pretty darned close to being spot on.



I had forgot about intending to reply to this post, but I remembered it yesterday, so I will reply in more depth today.  Several years ago an investigator (James Randi, I think) decided to put the water dowsers to a test.  He created an area that was (I believe) 50 x 50 yards wide.  He ran 4 different PVC pipes through the area, taking different routes.  Each of the pipes came from a manifold connected to a large reservoir of water (something like a 500 gallon tank), and then went to a manifold at the lower end, which emptied into a large basin.  He then covered over all of the pipes with about a foot or so of dirt, smoothing it out so as not to provide any hint of where the pipes might be.  The only things visible to the dowsers were the reservoir, the basin, and the two manifolds.  He invited several dowsers to participate, of which 5 accepted.  Before each dowser began with the water flowing through the pipes, he asked each one to locate any natural water flows in the area that could impact the test.  One or two of the dowsers found already existing water, but the rest did not.  The test required that each dowser locate a pipe within a given radius (1 foot, I think; after all, if a 10 foot radius were allowed, at least 1 and quite likely more pipes would be found, strictly by chance.)  Each dowser involved in the test performed their test out of sight of the rest of the dowsers, so as to provide no hint to the other dowsers.  Each of the dowsers were asked if they had any objections or reservations about the test.  No one did.  Here are the results of the test:


Not a single dowser was able to locate any of the pipes within the given radius.
None of the dowsers agreed with the others as to where the water was flowing through the pipes.  If the radius agreed to turned out to be too stringent, then if there was something to dowsing, then the dowsers should agree with one another, even if they did not locate the pipes within the agreed upon radius.  But the dowsers did not agree with each other.
The dowsers who claimed there was natural water flowing did not agree with each other.

So under these controlled conditions, dowsing failed to locate water.  As for the dowsers in Virginia that locate water, they may have some ability, but until they are tested under carefully controlled conditions to rule out other more prosaic explanations, then I have my doubts about their doing so due to the use of dowsing rods.  I think a more prosaic explanation applies, such as just about anywhere water is to be found.  Here is a link to an article you may find interesting: Dowsing and Water Witching. For those of you who still pity me for insisting on scientific evidence for most of what I believe, maybe this article will help, as reported in _The Onion_: Skeptic Pitied

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Ridgetop

Is it possible that the proximity to the surface of the ground could impact the testing?  If the pipes were only 12" below the surface, then any surface water might have confused it.    Or maybe these particular "dowsers" did not have the gift.  Had they found water for wells before?  

I still believe in dowsers.  The ones with a true "gift" have located water sources for hundreds of years.  Maybe thousands.  Since many wells hit water where the dowser told the people to dig, there must have been some truth to them.  

Maybe I am stupid, but "there are more things in heaven and earth . . . ."

On the tractor subject - I had DH watch the tractor video  At first, he was grumpy at being prevented from paying his on-line bridge game, but he became engrossed in the video.  He wants a new tractor but we can't get one until we move.  DS1 suggested that we might use a Bobcat more efficiently than a tractor on this property.  We can rent those.  However, when we move we will definitely look into a Kyoti.  The video interested me since Mr. Kapper referred to Farmall tractors.  That is the brand of the big blue tractor we gave to DS3 which he used to do all the work on his property until he wore it out and broke it!

We would love to have a good tractor here to do all the jobs we need done like installing fence posts, etc.  Of course, we would also like our property to become magically flat!  Since it isn't we will just have to pine for STA's new Kyoti!  
DS3 has finished building the weight box or whatever he constructed to give DH's little Kubota the rear weight it needs.  We need to pick it up.  DH says the Kubota tires are already filled with some sort of fluid but the rear end is still light.  Possibly because there is no implement attached to the rear end.  According to DH the "weight box" will enable him to use the hay forks that DS3 gave him.  We will see!  Boys and their toys!  LOL  

If we had flat land I would be driving DH down to the tractor place to get the tractor now!  So much work made easy with a good machine.  So much work we have to do with shovels and mattocks!    Ugh.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Ridgetop,

Thank you for your response and comments to water dowsing and the Kioti tractor.  I hope you folks can find a tractor to suit your needs.  You mentioned that your DS1 recommended a Bobcat instead of a tractor.  Since Bobcats make tractors as well as other equipment, I assume he means a skid steer or perhaps a compact track loader, since Bobcat is well known for those.  Those certainly can be useful machines.  Maybe you folks should rent one for a week, as well as rent a tractor (although since you already have owned a tractor then that may not be that useful).  Then you can decide and feel better that you made the right decision.

All tractor owners (Miss @Baymule, Miss @Ridgetop, Mr. @Mike CHS, Mr. @Bruce, Mr. @MtViking and others),

I just took delivery of my Kioti earlier this morning (pictures later), and was ensuring all of the nuts and bolts were tight (they were), then started to grease the fittings.  To my dismay, I was unable to get my Lock-N-Lube coupler over any of the fittings (zerks).  The coupler was too small in diameter.  (I have yet to try the original coupler that came with the grease gun.)  Have any of you run into this problem, and if so, how did you solve it?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Ridgetop

Yes, the Bobcat to which my son referred is the little compact dirt pusher, the little skid steer or whatever it is, is the one that can turn around in an almost complete circle giving it a tiny radius.  We have rented them before and they work well for many of our needs where the our little Kubota doesn't have the rear weight to operate well.  Hopefully the weight box DS3 made for his dad will alleviate that problem.  On the other hand, DH is drooling over your new tractor!  

We're looking forward to you new "Adventures with Kyoti" series!  We love all your tribulations - it makes us feel better about all our terrible mistakes!   Often when reading your adventures we say "Remember when we did that!" LOL  We feel your pain at every mishap.  

Post pix!!!


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## Bruce

Ridgetop said:


> Since many wells hit water where the dowser told the people to dig, there must have been some truth to them.


The question is: Would there have been water pretty much anywhere in the area? It isn't like wells are a really well defined and contained quantity of water. The water seeps in from all over underground.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> To my dismay, I was unable to get my Lock-N-Lube coupler over any of the fittings (zerks). The coupler was too small in diameter. (I have yet to try the original coupler that came with the grease gun.) Have any of you run into this problem, and if so, how did you solve it?


Timely question since I just ran into this last week! I don't know the difference but my Lock-n-lube won't attach tightly to the zerks on the flail though it will on the ones on the PTO shaft. My GUESS is the flail was made in China and the zerks are a WEE bit smaller and the PTO shaft was made somewhere that uses the same size as we have in the USA. There are only 3 zerks on the flail, one on each end of the roller and one for the shaft that holds the knives. These are all easy to hit with the short straight pipe of my small gun ... the one that was fine for the garden tractor but ran out of grease WAY too fast on the real tractor with a bazillion zerks between the loader and the backhoe. The connector on the short pipe gun fits the flail zerks AND the other ones which confuses me no end. Of course I always had a hard time getting that connector OFF the zerks before I got the Lock-n-lube ... the primary reason I got it in fact.

Maybe ask your dealer? There might be another connector they can sell you.


----------



## farmerjan

@Ridgetop , not to sound like a smart a$$, but Farmall tractors, are red not blue.  Started as IH and some of the earlier ones had some silver or grey on them and maybe some white.  We just always called them Internationals up in Ct where they were popular. As far as I am aware they were never blue .... even if produced in other countries as the Olivers were one color here(dark green with red),   and another color produced elsewhere (red in canada called cockshutt tractors)  Blue was the color that was identified with fords, after the fordsons that were originally gray as was the ford 9n, but then they were blue.  We have a ford 4600 and a 6600.  They merged with New Holland and are now called ford-new holland.  Our Allis Chalmers are an orange, JD is green , and some yellow, of course.  I believe that the Minneapolis Moline was a brighter orange.


----------



## Baymule

I haven't had any problem with the grease fitting not fitting  on the grease zerks. My husband thinks I'm some sort of mechanical genius because i can grease the tractor.


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## Bruce

Bay, WE all know you are a genius! Just finding all the zerks and figuring out how to access them takes some brain cells


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Ridgetop said:


> We're looking forward to you new "Adventures with Kyoti" series! We love all your tribulations - it makes us feel better about all our terrible mistakes! Often when reading your adventures we say "Remember when we did that!" LOL We feel your pain at every mishap.



Thank you, Miss @Ridgetop!  I certainly don't mind posting about my mistakes, even stupid or costly ones like my burning up my engine in my old tractor!  I figure that others can learn from my mistakes, or at least get a laugh at them.  After all, if I cannot laugh at my own mistakes, then I need to do something else.  I will admit, though, that so far I have not been able to laugh about burning up my old tractor -- that one hurt too much! 



Bruce said:


> Of course I always had a hard time getting that connector OFF the zerks before I got the Lock-n-lube ... the primary reason I got it in fact.



That was how I was able to grease the tractor.  I replaced the Lock-N-Lube with my old coupler and it fit just fine.  But I had trouble removing the coupler on a couple of fittings once I finished.  



Bruce said:


> The question is: Would there have been water pretty much anywhere in the area? It isn't like wells are a really well defined and contained quantity of water. The water seeps in from all over underground.



I happen to think that Mr. @Bruce is right.  But family has arrived, so I will be off the forum for awhile.  In the mean time, Miss @Ridgetop and Miss @farmerjan, how could the hypothesis that dowsers are able to locate water where other methods are not be tested?  In your thinking about it, imagine that cost is not an object.  (I know that is not the case -- drilling wells can be quite expensive.)  I will check back in later and offer my thoughts and read what yours are.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Ridgetop

DH says that our big tractor was definitely a Farmall.  It was certainly bright blue.  However, since we bought it used and the previous owner (our neighbor) also bought it used, we don't know where it was originally sold.  We are in California and to order any parts for repairs you have to send back east so . . . . ?


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## rachels.haven

You never know, someone may have painted it or put used mixed parts. Stranger things have been known to happen.


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## Bruce

Ridgetop said:


> DH says that our big tractor was definitely a Farmall.  It was certainly bright blue.  However, since we bought it used and the previous owner (our neighbor) also bought it used, we don't know where it was originally sold.  We are in California and to order any parts for repairs you have to send back east so . . . . ?


Was it REALLY old?? Wikipedia (the most trusted site on the web for all facts and only the facts  ) says:
"All Farmall tractors were painted a deep blue-grey until mid-1936 (around July through September). The color has often been mistaken for battleship grey, but it was actually bluer. The wheels were most often *red*."


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## Ridgetop

No, it was a bright blue.  I will have my son send me a picture of it and  post it.


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## Bruce

Sounds like someone fixed it up and decided it needed a new paint job.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I thought I would bring you folks up to date on what's been going on here the past few days.  Before I do so, I thought you folks might appreciate these pictures of Farmall tractors: http://www.oldtractorpictures.com/Farmall/

My Beautiful Gal's next older sister Treasa and her husband James came to visit last week, arriving on Wednesday and leaving Saturday.  James loved driving the new tractor.  I had him picking up old brush piles and moving them to a burn area.  I tried lighting the brush but it wouldn't burn.  I guess the rain we had received the day before made it too wet to burn.

I have been having trouble with the skid steer quick attach on my new tractor.  Twice I had the grapple come off, with the first time resulting in my ripping the hydraulic hoses off.  And today, twice I had the tree shear come off, once while backing away from a tree I had cut close to the ground, and once while trying to cut a large limb probably 12 ft or so above the ground.  Does anyone here on the forum have any idea why that would happen?  I can post pictures if needed.

The new tractor is a lot more powerful than my old tractor.  I have broken 4 shear bolts on the mower.  The first time I broke the shear bolt was when I engaged the PTO with the engine revved up.  I have since learned to engage the PTO while the tractor is idling.  The other times have been when I was mowing and hit tree stumps.  On my old tractor, the PTO clutch would simply bog down and the PTO shaft would stop turning.  Not with this new tractor.  I hope I don't end up breaking all of my PTO powered implements because they can't handle the torque!

Well, that's all the news here.  I hope everyone has a great week!  

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Mike CHS

You may not have enough need for one but I have a propane torch weed burner that I use to start my brush fires.  I can justify it because I do get volunteered often to smoke a bunch of pork shoulders for fund raisers.  I use the torch to start the hardwood on fire to get our lit coals easier/faster.  A little diesel goes a long way to starting a fire along with the torch.


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## farmerjan

I am not enough of a mechanic to help with the problems with the quick attach on the tractor.  Call the dealership.... they ought to be willing to help.... even maybe take a ride out since you wrote them a nice big check...... called "SERVICE" in my book.


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## Ridgetop

Absolutely!  Check with the dealership about the grapple coming off, etc.  They should be able to sort out the problems.  Service is the watchword.  Since you bought your nice new expensive tractor from them they are going to want you to bring it in for all the servicing and repairs so should give you good service now to keep you happy.  They sure don't want you to be unhappy with the tractor you bought from them or their service.  They want to keep their reputation.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Before I do so, I thought you folks might appreciate these pictures of Farmall tractors


Looks like the color options pretty much are red and rust 

Regarding the QA. Pictures may help. With nothing on it do the pins drop all the way down into the slots? And do they do so when the implement is on? And the the "V" at the top goes all the way into the implements? The only time I've had trouble is when someone  forgot to close the levers after swapping implements. Anyone else had to figure out how to get their forks out of the (unlit) fire ring?


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## farmerjan

@Senile_Texas_Aggie: Many thanks for the pictures of the  Farmall's.  We have the Super H in the definite shade of "rust"  reddish brown.  Also have an "M"  which is the slowest tractor I have ever driven..... no matter how you shift it, the highest gear is still like crawling.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I am still catching up on everyone's journals and have delayed posting what has been happening here.  But something has come up that I thought I would share with everyone.

Yesterday we learned that my Beautiful Gal's next older sister, Treasa, and her husband, James, tested positive for COVID-19.   They were tested a week before and just got back the results.  James was admitted to the hospital.  He has not gone into ICU yet, but is under care.  He started developing delirium a few days before, and had a really bad cough during that time.  He was exposed to COVID-19 positive relatives around July 4.  Neither he nor his family members would wear masks.  Even after showing symptoms, where he slept a lot longer and developed a cough, he still refused to wear a mask.  He then gave the virus to his wife, who has COPD,  She has yet to be admitted to the hospital but instead is staying at home, taking over-the-counter medication to treat the symptoms.  Her younger daughter is looking after her at the moment.  We will see how things turn out.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

Sorry for their contracting the virus.  Hope that it was caught soon enough to be able to fight it and do okay.  If they were exposed to it at the 4th of July, how do they know that?  Has someone else tested positive from that group?  If they knew they had it they shouldn't have gone to the family gathering.  I hope that they both are able to fight this off and get back to a normal life.  My thoughts are with you and your wife.


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## Bruce

Sad to hear STA   I suspect since we are now about 2 weeks out from July 4th the numbers will continue to rise. I just heard that we crossed 70K new cases yesterday, the new cases on a given day just keep increasing. The entire south is turning red. 

I don't know if I've shared this page yet. 7 day running average by state or county.

I'm glad that at least these weren't the people who were visiting you (which has kept of from our tractor fix).


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## Bruce

When it is working right you can zoom in close enough to easily pick out individual counties. Not sure why it doesn't always work.


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch

I'm sorry to hear that they are sick, I hope they have a quick recovery.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

farmerjan said:


> Sorry for their contracting the virus. Hope that it was caught soon enough to be able to fight it and do okay. If they were exposed to it at the 4th of July, how do they know that? Has someone else tested positive from that group? If they knew they had it they shouldn't have gone to the family gathering. I hope that they both are able to fight this off and get back to a normal life. My thoughts are with you and your wife.



I don't know the specific details, whether the family members who attended the July 4th party knew at the time they had COVID-19 and decided to attend anyway, or if they found out after attending.  Either way, it is a sad thing.  Thank you for your concern, Miss @farmerjan.



Bruce said:


> Sad to hear STA  I suspect since we are now about 2 weeks out from July 4th the numbers will continue to rise. I just heard that we crossed 70K new cases yesterday, the new cases on a given day just keep increasing. The entire south is turning red.
> 
> I don't know if I've shared this page yet. 7 day running average by state or county.
> 
> I'm glad that at least these weren't the people who were visiting you (which has kept of from our tractor fix).



Thanks for the link.  I have now saved that link for reference later.  As for the folks who were visiting us recently, actually it was Treasa and James, who visited and then left the morning of July 4 to go back home.  Perhaps you are referring to the family members who were COVID-19 positive who attended the July 4th party and who possibly infected Treasa and James.  If so, I am glad they weren't the ones visiting, either.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

So your visitors are the infected ones but got it after they visited you? If so you've had nearly 2 weeks to catch us up on your Kioti adventures!!!!! Where ya been?


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> So your visitors are the infected ones but got it after they visited you? If so you've had nearly 2 weeks to catch us up on your Kioti adventures!!!!! Where ya been?



You'll understand better when I can get caught up and can post more, but realize that I have been without a tractor for 3 months and a lot of work piled up.  I have been trying to get a good bit of that done.  This morning I plan to do the 50 hour service on the tractor, which requires changing the transmission hydraulic fluid filters and engine oil and filter.  Once I am finished, I plan to get back to making more of a dent in the work that is needed.  But I promise to fill in all of the details when I get time.  And there will be pictures!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## MtViking

Just catching up a bit on some of the journals. Man oh man that’s a dang nice tractor!! Sure has a lot more features than my old 60s farmall 560  My old coworker has a kioti very similar I’m not sure what model his is vs yours but he never had and bad thing to say about his tractor. Always was bragging about the AC in the summer and how toasty he was while plowing snow in the winter. That’s what I’d like to work up to eventually. I’d like a smaller tractor than what I’ve got to be honest. It’s a beast and can get a lot done but it’s too big to get into some of the places I’d like to use it. But I’m not complaining it sure saves me a lot of time in the places I do get to use it.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thank you, Mr. @MtViking!  Yes, it is a beast of a tractor, compared to my New Holland TC48DA.  I hope to post more about my experience with the tractor so far, both the good and the bad.  Stay tuned.  Also, good to see you back on the forum.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I have finally caught back up on everyone's journals and so am able to describe what has been happening here.

As I mentioned in another post on someone else's journal, I have been having problems with the quick attach adapter not holding onto the grapple or the tree shear.  The dealer came here a couple of days after I had called and told him about it.  Unfortunately he came on a day and time when a thunderstorm was approaching.  I told him what I thought was the problem, which was that the pins of the adapter holding the bottom portion of the attachment were coming up and allowing the attachment to come off.  We tried to get the bucket that came with the loader to come off.  We could not do so when dragging the edge of the bucket along the ground while driving backward.  The bucket stayed tight.  Then I suggested we try what I think are the forces acting on the grapple, using chains and 3 cross ties as a load on the bucket, with the bucket in the dump position.  But by then it started raining hard so we couldn't do the test.  The dealer concluded that probably my grapple and tree shear are not meeting spec for quick attach compatible attachments.  Until I can make the bucket come off the way the grapple and tree shear sometimes do, then I will simply have to be careful with those attachments.

After he left and the rain stopped, I decided it was time to replace the bridge over the ditch that goes into the overgrown pasture areas.  The bridge I had there was wide enough for the Gator and my old tractor, but not wide enough for the new tractor.  I still had the portable bridge from last year that I decided to use to replace that bridge.  I had added a second layer of pressure treated 2x6s to provide additional strength, as it had not been strong enough to hold up my other tractor when I carried 3 cross ties in the grapple.  This time, using the new tractor (which is a good bit heavier than my old one) carrying 3 cross ties, I drove across the bridge (where I built it near the shop), and the bridge held just fine.  Yay!  So the next test would be to try to pick up the bridge with the tractor.  My older tractor could just barely pick up the bridge before I added the second layer of 2x6s.  But this tractor had no problem picking up the bridge.  Another yay!  So I carried the new bridge over to the ditch where the too-narrow bridge was, drug out that bridge, and then lifted up and set into place the new bridge.  It fit just fine.  Then I drove across the new bridge.  It held up just fine and felt quite solid.  A third yay!  I swapped out the grapple for the bucket and put dirt on top of the corduroy, smoothed it out, then went to the other side and smoothed that out, which was deeply rutted from it being so wet earlier in the year.  Here are pictures of the results.

Looking southeast over the corduroy and bridge into the overgrown area:  


Looking northwest from the overgrown area:  

To be continued...

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

That's one fine looking road and bridge! it's the simple things in life that make us so happy.


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## farmerjan

Agree with @Baymule ,  it looks really nice.  Don't know what to tell you about getting it to "mess up"  so they can see what is going on with the grapple.   Sounds like you are doing better with the larger tractor to do some of the things you want....


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## Ridgetop

So sorry to hear about your Beautiful Gal's relatives' illnesses.  I hope they have gotten treatment in time.  Did they trace who was positive at the 4th July event?  Praying for them.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> This morning I plan to do the 50 hour service on the tractor, which requires changing the transmission hydraulic fluid filters and engine oil and filter.


You have been working hard if it is already time for the 50 hour service! I hope you had less trouble getting the hydraulic filters off than I did at my 50 hour. Especially the one next to the left rear tire. I'm sure the backhoe frame adds to the lack of space. I ended up buying 3 or 4 filter wrenches and somehow managed to get it off eventually. I
d bet the dealers put the tractor up in the air a bit and take off that tire.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> The dealer concluded that probably my grapple and tree shear are not meeting spec for quick attach compatible attachments.


Yet they worked fine with the NH QA didn't they. I might smell smoke.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Thanks, everyone, for the compliments on the bridge.  My Beautiful Gal is really happy with it.  Prior to replacing it, the narrow bridge together with the rough corduroy made her quite concerned about crossing the bridge.  Now she is not at all afraid to drive over the bridge and corduroy.

Regarding the quick attach adapter, I plan to test the bucket by trying to put forces on the bucket that often cause the grapple to come off.  The grapple often comes off when I try to pick up brush by putting the grapple in the dump position, lowering it onto the brush, clamping onto the brush, then picking it up and curling up with the grapple.  The force on the grapple is to pull at both the top and bottom attachment points.  Because a bucket normally does not have force on it in the dump position, I plan to chain 3 or more cross ties to the bucket while in the dump position and then lifting up.  If the bucket comes off then I think I have proven the quick attach adapter on the tractor needs adjusting.  If the bucket does not come off, then I will simply have to live with the situation until I can figure out a better way.

After installing the bridge and having swapped the grapple for the bucket in order to move dirt to put on top of the corduroy, I decided it was time to fill in the trench.  The trench never did dry up.  That tells me that there is a SLOW leak in 1 or more of the connections on the pipe.  But because the leak is so slow, with the water usage not even causing the meter to turn, I decided to live with the leak until it gets worse.  So I moved the dirt from the side of the trench back into the trench.  Unfortunately I was not as thorough in ensuring that the dirt was spread evenly across the trench.  So the east end of the trench got more dirt and the west end of the trench got less.  Here is what the trench looks like after I finished.  The pictures were taken from the north side of the trench.

western end of trench looking southeast:  


eastern end of trench looking southwest:  

I plan to let the dirt settle by itself.  I don't want to try to pack down the dirt by driving over it with the tractor.  I think that if I did drive over it the water line would end up bending and 1 or more of the connections would fail.  I have placed T-posts around the trench to discourage folks from driving over it.

After I finished filling the trench, I decided to mow the overgrown pastures, since I had been unable to do so this year until now.  Prior to the old tractor dying, I had cut A LOT of tree limbs and small trees, intending on picking them up with the grapple later.  While I was cutting those limbs and trees, I managed to rut up the ground in several places, because the ground was so soft.  When I started mowing over in the overgrown pastures again, I often would strike the tree limbs and small trees that were in the grass but I could not see because the grass was so tall, or I would strike the ground where there were walls of dirt pushed up from the sides of the tractor ruts.  If I had been using my old tractor, then the mower would have made a noise but nothing awful would have come of it.  With the new tractor, with more horsepower to the PTO and a mechanical rather than a hydraulic PTO clutch, I often break a shear pin.  During my attempts at mowing the overgrown area over a 3 day period, I probably broke 5 shear pins!

To be continued...

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I decided it was time to fill in the trench


Keep those T posts in because next year the grass will have hidden the area nicely and if you end up with a leak again the T posts will tell you where the pipe is 

Time to run the landscape rake over where you plan to mow to get rid of the limbs in the grass? Hard to get much done when you have to keep replacing shear pins. Sounds like you want to buy them by the 100 pack


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Good idea about the T-posts marking the spot!  Regarding using the landscape rake to remove the tree limbs and small trees, I tried that, but due to the landscape rake having flexible tines and the grass being so deep, the landscape rake simply stayed on top of the grass!  I have since learned to go VERY slowly around the edges of the pasture looking for the limbs and small trees and picking those up and out of the way before I mow.  Regarding the shear bolts, see below.

After breaking my last shear bolt on Wednesday of last week, Thursday morning I decided to go to Tractor Supply to buy 10 shear bolts and 5 T-posts, a transmission filter from the dealer, and pick up a few items from CV's Family Foods, small regional chain of grocery stores in the area.  On the way there I remembered the old lawn mower I had dropped off back in April to have possibly repaired.  Since I had already bought a replacement I kept forgetting about it, but this time I finally remembered.  I got the lawn mower from the shop.  The repair guy confirmed that the crankshaft was bent and thus the mower wasn't worth repairing.  I figured I could use the mower for spare parts for my new mower, as they were almost identical.  So I loaded the mower in the bed of the truck, closed the tail gate, and went to Tractor Supply.  I bought the 10 shear pins and 5 T-posts.  Because the mower was in the back and because of a large container I keep in the truck which holds battery cables, tools, etc., I was unable to slide the T-posts in far enough to close the tail gate.  I decided I would drive slowly to the grocery store, avoiding the mower rolling out the back.

After coming out of CV's and starting home, I got less than a mile away (still in town driving down city streets) when I noticed that I could not see the lawn mower handles in the rear view mirror.  I backtracked to the grocery store, but never saw the mower.  I went all the way back to Tractor Supply, again never seeing the mower on either side of the road.  While at CV's, I asked the manager of the store if they had security cameras, as I began to suspect that someone stole the mower while I was in CV's.  He said no.  So if the mower was stolen, as I believe it probably was, I would love to have seen the look on the thief's face when he got home and realized he stole a worthless mower!

To be continued...

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

On Friday morning of last week, I decided that it was time to do the 50 hour service on the tractor, since it had 52 hours on the tractor when I parked it Thursday afternoon.  I went out to the shop to start removing the transmission filter.  When I got under the tractor, I discovered that the tractor had 2 filters, not just 1.  So I went to the dealer (about 6 miles away) and got the 2nd filter.  I then came back and tried to remove the 1st filter.  The filter wrench I had, a rubber strap with a handle, would simply slide on the filter casing rather turn the filter.  After placing sand paper between the strap and the casing so the strap wouldn't slide, the strap stretched until I had no more room to use the wrench.  (Between frames and bracings on the tractor, there was room for only about an 1/8 of a turn of the wrench before the wrench handle encountered the tractor frame.)  I then tried other tools I had, but could not get them to work.  I decided to go to the local auto parts store just across the highway from the tractor dealer to see if they had a a wrench that would fit and could remove the filter.  I met a neighbor there who overheard my conversation with the folks in the store, and he showed me what they used remove the filters from their tractors.  (He works for the guy who is leasing our land for hay and so uses and services several different tractors.)  I bought that filter wrench and went back home.  But because it was already afternoon and really hot, I decided to wait until Saturday morning to try to change the filters.

Early Saturday morning I started trying to remove the 1st filter using the new wrench.  It could not go around the filter completely due to interference from the tractor frame on one side and the other filter on the other side.  Well, it was time for drastic measures, namely to drive a long shafted screwdriver through the filter casing and use that to twist the filter.  I was unable to drive the screwdriver directly into and through the casing, so I had to drill through the casing using a long drill bit I had bought to tie the railroad cross ties together.  Then I was able to drive the screwdriver through the filter.  Then I tried removing the filter by pressing on the screwdriver handle.  I could not get the filter to budge.  Finally I used my foot on the screwdriver handle and pressing with almost all the strength I had, I finally got the filter to start unscrewing.  But since there was not much room for the screwdriver handle, I could turn the filter only about 1/8 turn.  Trying the other tools I was unable to get the filter to turn, so I drilled a 2nd hole through the filter, inserted the screwdriver again, pushed with my leg, and turned it another 1/8 turn.  I had to drill 4 separate holes into the filter casing, turning 1/8 turn each time, until the filter had turned enough that I could reuse the holes to insert the screwdriver and continue turning.  It took almost 3 hours to remove the 1st filter!

With the 1st filter removed, I had enough room to try using on the 2nd filter the tool I bought the previous day.  I could not get the tool to grip the casing of the 2nd filter -- it simply slipped and I didn't have the hand strength to get the edges of the tool to bite down to prevent it from slipping.  "This is nuts!" I thought.  I couldn't believe that the dealer had to go through this work to remove filters, so I decided to go talk to them.  Since it was Saturday, the shop was closed but the parts department was open.  After talking to them and learning what they used, I went to the auto parts store and bought that tool, which is a nylon strap attached to a square hollow rod that accommodates a 1/2" ratchet.   After getting back home, I tried using the tool.  The casing started collapsing from the strap, but the filter would not budge.  So, back to using the drill/screwdriver combo.  Because the 1st filter was no longer in the way, I could turn the 2nd filter about 1/4 turn, instead of only 1/8 like the first filter.  Thus, I only had to drill 2 separate holes through the casing instead of 4 as with the 1st filter, and was able to remove the 2nd filter faster.  Once I got the second filter out, I was able to add the new filters back and to change the engine oil and filter fairly quickly.  So, after 6 hours of work, the 50 hour service was done!

First filter after removal:  

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch

That seems kind of ridiculous that the filter casing would be that difficult to remove. How do they do it in the shop if they use the same tool you tried and it failed to work?


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> but due to the landscape rake having flexible tines and the grass being so deep, the landscape rake simply stayed on top of the grass!


Maybe put the forks on the tractor and run them slightly tilted up in float? 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> when I noticed that I could not see the lawn mower handles in the rear view mirror.


Reminds me of  

Your hydraulic filter experience is WAY too similar to mine though I did manage to get them off without resorting to the last ditch "stab and turn" method. I was quite happy to see that while the fluid needed to be changed again at 200 hours the filters did not. Obviously the people who design the engine and the people who make the tractor frames don't talk before they build. Like the unreachable cooling fins on the bottom of my refrigerator I bet if the people who design them had to do the maintenance the design would change REAL fast.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Calling all BYH tractor owners!  I am still breaking shear pins on my shredder / rotary mower quite frequently.  Yesterday, for example, I broke 2 shear pins, one from scalping the ground and 1 from hitting a cut down tree about 2" in diameter.  I am considering putting a slip clutch on the PTO drive shaft of the cutter, hoping that it will slip before the shear pin breaks.  How many of you folks have slip clutches on your shredder / rotary cutter and how well do they work?


----------



## Bruce

You are out of my knowledge area. I thought the machine itself had either shear pins or a slip clutch and the shaft connected to that gear box. Not sure I've heard of/seen (on the YouTube channels I follow) about a slip clutch on the shaft itself. 

Maybe you need to lower the rear wheel and cut a bit higher? You could also contact Tractor Mike and see if he has any ideas. He has been putting up videos answering "letters" from people.


----------



## farmerjan

The shear pins are doing EXACTLY what they are designed to do..... shear before you tear up the mower.  A slip clutch is not going to solve the problem of you trying to cut things that are not designed to be cut..... the ground or a cut off sapling that must have had some size to it.  Our 15 ft bat wing bush hog will hit and the clutch will slip.... but it is designed to cut rough stuff;   the rotary mower/shredder that you have  may not be designed to attempt to cut off the size saplings you are trying.... and NONE of them are designed to cut dirt/gravel/rocks. 
I agree with running it a little higher so that you don't hit as much.  If it has a hydraulic cylinder to lower it, there are spacers that go on the shaft of the cylinder that will only allow it to go down so far....They snap on and off easily.  We use them on all our bush hog jobs so as to not cut the grass/weeds/brush too low and then cause the underlying ground to burn up like with the temps we have had lately.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> ... Maybe you need to lower the rear wheel and cut a bit higher? You could also contact Tractor Mike and see if he has any ideas. He has been putting up videos answering "letters" from people.





farmerjan said:


> ... I agree with running it a little higher so that you don't hit as much. If it has a hydraulic cylinder to lower it, there are spacers that go on the shaft of the cylinder that will only allow it to go down so far....They snap on and off easily. We use them on all our bush hog jobs so as to not cut the grass/weeds/brush too low and then cause the underlying ground to burn up like with the temps we have had lately.



Thanks to you both for replying.  I have not tried to lower the tail wheel yet.  I may try that.  I did contact Tractor Mike and told him of my issues.  He suggested that I use a stronger shear bolt or buy a more rugged mower.  I had failed to tell him at the time that I am already using grade 5 1/2" shear bolts and am reluctant to go to grade 8, as I fear that would offer no protection at all.  I am considering buying a more rugged mower.

Regarding the spacers, I was unaware of their existence.  I will look into those.  Regarding the height of the mower off of the ground, I have been running the 3-pt position control at level 3 (where level 1 is fully lowered and level 5 is fully raised).  I have a hydraulic top link where I position to have the mower level when at the level 3 position.  I think what is happening compared to my old tractor is that my old tractor had less HP and the hydraulic PTO clutch was weak, so if the mower hit a stump or contacted the ground, the PTO would slow down so as not to apply so much force.  With my new tractor with the higher HP and a mechanical PTO clutch that is less forgiving, then when I hit a stump or contact the ground, the shear pin cannot handle the additional force and then shears, just as it is designed to do (as you both pointed out).  The only control I have at the moment is the depth of the cut and the speed of the tractor.  Whenever I get into rough terrain, where there are erosion channels or tractor ruts in the ground, then I have been slowing WAY down, which has helped some.  Still, though, I will hit stumps which I left when I used the tree shear to cut down a lot of small trees.  Because the trees were often in brush and thus I could not see if the tree shear was on the ground when I cut the tree, I often would leave a stump as high as 3".  Then when I later mow over that brush with the stump, the mower will hit the stump and shear a pin.

I will figure out something.  Thanks again for everyone's input.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Yeah I wouldn't go up any higher on the shear pin hardness, you will be buying a new mower whether you want to or not ... or at least a new gearbox.


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## Mike CHS

This may not help you but I have cleared a lot of area on our place but I won't cut a tree down to ground level. I always cut trees leaving at least 4-5 feet of trunk standing.  I have yet to find but a few that I can't take out with the front end loader pushing on that trunk and I don't have a big tractor.  Last summer I had enough left that I couldn't take out that I hired a friend that we get our hay from that does dozer work to come in and take those out along with some larger trees that I didn't want to mess with.  I spray our fence lines a couple of times in the summer and while at it, I spray the grass around those tall stumps that I left but I never have to worry about them with a mower.


----------



## farmerjan

They are hydraulic cylinder spacers... different sizes.... will fit right on the hydraulic cylinder, arm that comes out.  prevents it from going all the way back down to the lowest level.... and then you can free float the lever and not set it at a specific height. 
@Mike CHS  way of cutting them high then pulling/pushing them out to not leave a stump makes alot of sense.  Have to remember that one.  Easier to get at to pull out too.


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## Bruce

Might need to dig some roots before pushing over depending on the size of the tree.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Yesterday when I got up, the forecast called for 90% chance of rain.  The NWS radar for the southern plains showed rain in Oklahoma near the Arkansas state line headed our way.  I figured there was no point of going out to work in the pastures or woods only to get rained on.  So I waited until around 9:30 for the rain to come, but it still hadn't.  The radar showed that the rain appeared to be falling apart along the state line.  I decided I would go out anyhow, with the intent of taking pictures and cutting down a lot of the tree stumps that had been causing me to shear pins on my mower.

As I headed to the shop, I found my phone was down to 20% charge and felt quite warm.  I'm not sure what caused it to discharge so quickly, but that meant I would not be taking pictures of my work.  Oh, well.  Little did I know what lay in store.

When I got to the shop, I discovered that the tractor's right front tire was flat.  As I tried to loosen the lug bolts, the 12-pt sockets would simply round off the shoulders due to the bolts having been tightened so much.  My little 1/4" Dewalt impact wrench cried uncle when I tried it to remove the bolts.  So I went to a True Value hardware store to see if they had any impact wrenches and 6-pt socket sets.  They had a Dewalt 1/2" impact wrench for $449.  Ouch!  They also had a air impact wrench whose brand I did not recognize.  I decided to check with the auto parts store down the street.  They had an Ingersoll Rand air impact wrench and some 6-pt deep sockets, so I bought those.

Once I got home, I discovered that there was no owner's manual with the wrench, only a safety warning manual.  I didn't want to use the wrench before finding out if I needed to add oil to the wrench before using.  So I decided to look on-line.  When attempting to get on-line, my laptop decided it was time to update the BIOS, what turned into a 30 minute procedure.  Finally I was able to get online and went to the Ingersoll Rand web site.  There I started another hunt for the manual, a 30-minute effort.  Here are the two relevant pages for the use of the impact wrench:





...




I wasn't certain from the drawing of how much oil to put in the wrench, so I put less than a teaspoon and then connected the air hose.  I was then able to remove the lug bolts with no problem.

Next I rolled the tire out to the truck in the parking area.  (Why I didn't back the truck up to the shop where it was closer and the concrete a lot smoother and level is an example of my Texas Aggie I/Q in action.)  Once I got the tire to the truck, I was unable to lift the tire into the bed of the truck because the tire was too heavy for my 192 lb weakling body.  So I dragged the floor jack to the truck, rolled the tire onto the jack, jacked up the tire so that it was almost halfway above the tailgate, then was able to lift and rotate the tire into the truck bed.

After lunch I took the tire to be repaired.  It turned out that I had run over a locust tree thorn, which caused a slow leak.  After getting the tire back home, I was able to get it mounted with no problem.  By then, though, it was 2 PM and I didn't feel like going out.

So that is how I spent my day yesterday.

If there are any air impact wrench experts on the forum, feel free to provide me any guidance as to how I can care for the impact wrench.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Larsen Poultry Ranch

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> All,
> 
> Yesterday when I got up, the forecast called for 90% chance of rain.  The NWS radar for the southern plains showed rain in Oklahoma near the Arkansas state line headed our way.  I figured there was no point of going out to work in the pastures or woods only to get rained on.  So I waited until around 9:30 for the rain to come, but it still hadn't.  The radar showed that the rain appeared to be falling apart along the state line.  I decided I would go out anyhow, with the intent of taking pictures and cutting down a lot of the tree stumps that had been causing me to shear pins on my mower.
> 
> As I headed to the shop, I found my phone was down to 20% charge and felt quite warm.  I'm not sure what caused it to discharge so quickly, but that meant I would not be taking pictures of my work.  Oh, well.  Little did I know what lay in store.
> 
> When I got to the shop, I discovered that the tractor's right front tire was flat.  As I tried to loosen the lug bolts, the 12-pt sockets would simply round off the shoulders due to the bolts having been tightened so much.  My little 1/4" Dewalt impact wrench cried uncle when I tried it to remove the bolts.  So I went to a True Value hardware store to see if they had any impact wrenches and 6-pt socket sets.  They had a Dewalt 1/2" impact wrench for $449.  Ouch!  They also had a air impact wrench whose brand I did not recognize.  I decided to check with the auto parts store down the street.  They had an Ingersoll Rand air impact wrench and some 6-pt deep sockets, so I bought those.
> 
> Once I got home, I discovered that there was no owner's manual with the wrench, only a safety warning manual.  I didn't want to use the wrench before finding out if I needed to add oil to the wrench before using.  So I decided to look on-line.  When attempting to get on-line, my laptop decided it was time to update the BIOS, what turned into a 30 minute procedure.  Finally I was able to get online and went to the Ingersoll Rand web site.  There I started another hunt for the manual, a 30-minute effort.  Here are the two relevant pages for the use of the impact wrench:
> 
> View attachment 76511
> ...
> View attachment 76510
> 
> I wasn't certain from the drawing of how much oil to put in the wrench, so I put less than a teaspoon and then connected the air hose.  I was then able to remove the lug bolts with no problem.
> 
> Next I rolled the tire out to the truck in the parking area.  (Why I didn't back the truck up to the shop where it was closer and the concrete a lot smoother and level is an example of my Texas Aggie I/Q in action.)  Once I got the tire to the truck, I was unable to lift the tire into the bed of the truck because the tire was too heavy for my 192 lb weakling body.  So I dragged the floor jack to the truck, rolled the tire onto the jack, jacked up the tire so that it was almost halfway above the tailgate, then was able to lift and rotate the tire into the truck bed.
> 
> After lunch I took the tire to be repaired.  It turned out that I had run over a locust tree thorn, which caused a slow leak.  After getting the tire back home, I was able to get it mounted with no problem.  By then, though, it was 2 PM and I didn't feel like going out.
> 
> So that is how I spent my day yesterday.
> 
> If there are any air impact wrench experts on the forum, feel free to provide me any guidance as to how I can care for the impact wrench.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


That's a lot of work for just a tire! Bummer you weren't able to work with it yesterday but it hopefully won't have any more problems when you go to use it next.


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## Bruce

You just can't catch a break! I think you need the metal rim wheels like on the really antique tractors because I'm sure if there is one locust thorn out there, it has friends. Thankfully we don't have those here but I've seen pictures and I sure wouldn't want to tangle with them! 

I should pay attention to your post even though I can't help you. I've only used my IR 1/2" impact to take lug nuts off car tires to do the seasonal swap. Never thought about having to oil it! Hopefully it didn't need an initial oil fill, I've definitely not used it 8 hours yet even though I've had it about 3 years. Don't know if I got an owner's manual or not. Yeah, I'm maybe not the most organized person.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,


I thought I would post some of the work I have managed to get done, and some of the obstacles along the way.  I think I am finally caught up with everything that got neglected from the time my old tractor died until I got the new one earlier this month.  Most of the work was for the overgrown area located at the southern end of our place, as shown in this picture.  (I will reference the letters later in the text.)  The work included mowing, picking up cut trees, brush and limbs that I had cut in mid-March through early April, and burning that brush.

The overgrown area:    


Miss @farmerjan,  I hope you have taken your antacid before you look at these pictures -- I know this pasture doesn't look nearly as nice as what one would look like if you did it, but it looks better than before I started, which was knee-high to waist-high grass and weeds.

Point A looking south:    

Point A looking east:    

Point B looking south, with the burn pile area in the foreground:  

The first burn pile was probably 30' in diameter by 6-7' high (as high as my FEL/grapple could lift) before I set it ablaze.  I burned 3 smaller piles in addition to the big one, as I picked up groups of trees in area C and then moved them to the burn pile.

Point C indicates a broader area, where small trees, shrubs and bushes have grown up.  This is where I have been doing most of the breaking of shear pins.

Examples of the shrubs and brush in the area around point C:     

Shear pin breakage sources in the next post...


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Pictures of shear pin hazards.  Each picture represents where I broke a shear pin.  Realize that at the time I was mowing, the grass was knee-high or taller.

Tractor ruts near point A:  

The remaining pictures are from area around point C.  Hump in ground which I scalped:  

Stumps:       

Groove worn in shaft of mower by shear pins breaking: 

In the next post, I will be seeking your inputs on what I should do with this overgrown area.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Now for your inputs for what I should do with this overgrown area.

Let me describe the overgrown area.  The area is a mixture of fully mature trees, which are the wooded areas in the picture.  Many years ago, most of the area was pasture.  But years of neglect by previous owners allowed a lot of bushes and trees and corresponding briars to grow up in the pastures.  (They did not have livestock to keep the areas eaten down.)  Now those bushes and trees are 10+ years old.

When we first bought the place 2+ years ago, I decided that I would cut back on some of the growth and keep the grass mowed.  Later I decided to try to cut down or thin out the trees and bushes in the area (area C in the picture in a previous post).  But now that I can no longer use that approach as easily I could previously (due to breaking shear pins), I am beginning to rethink what I should do.

The eastern boundary runs north/south and borders Arkansas Game and Fish commission land.  The fence between the properties is in bad shape and would not keep in livestock.  The boundary that runs through the woods northwest/southeast has no fence at all.  There is a ridge that runs northwest/southeast whose water drains into this property.  The pastures are frequently wet in numerous places in the spring, as the water runs across the pastures more or less to the east.  Thus I am not sure how well the land could be used for haying.  I would have to talk to someone about what it would take to turn it into a hay making area.

I am also considering planting trees.  (Miss @frustratedearthmother suggested that when I asked what I should do with 100 acres of pasture when I first joined the forum -- see https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/what-do-i-do-with-100-acres-of-pasture.38064/post-555958).  My problem is that I know nothing about what programs are available for assistance in planting trees or what the advantages are, etc.

I suppose that I could raise livestock there.  The problems there are that I currently have no fences to speak of, and I have never raised livestock in my life.  If I were to try any livestock it would probably be sheep or goats.  But I would probably end up killing them in the first few months due to pure ignorance.

I guess what I am asking is this: is there a Farming for Dummies, Growing Trees for Dummies, or Land Management for Dummies, or some other thing like that?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

Talk to the guys at the Fish and Game and ask who would you need to see about getting some of the land planted in trees... They ought to know who to at least send you to.  And the extension service should be able to help.  Go online and see what you can come up with.  
It it is frequently wet, hay would be iffy.  

I think maybe getting trees established would be your best bet.  I know that you are honest enough to know that you are not a "livestock farmer" by nature.... 
If hardwoods would do okay, then it would give you a chance to get the farm into "land use" of some sort as tree farming is allowed.... at least here.  Give you a break on your taxes.  
Don't know if they grow them there, but pines are popular here, grown alot in eastern Va and NC.... harvested in like 20 + years....mostly yellow pine as they are fast growing;   might give you an income down the road from that.  They clear cut and it is not pretty when they do, but the trees will be planted and grow and there is very little "maintenance"  to them.  Hardwoods you will not see harvested in your lifetime probably....but better than growing up willy nilly to scrub brush, and whatever takes hold.


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## farmerjan

By the way, your bush hogging looks better than mine as our grass/pastures were way too tall and alot is laying on the ground.  It will incorporate back into the soil but for a couple of weeks it looks pretty crappy to me. 

I think you just need a larger, stronger bush hog for that size tractor.


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## Ridgetop

If you have anyone that is willing to put cattle on that pasture, you could arrange for them to put up a hot wire and run the cattle in for feeding up.  The grass looks good.  You would not have to do anything with the cattle since the owner would be just renting pasture from you, and would take care of his cows/steers himself.  If the cattle owner has to put in the fencing maybe he could do that in return for the first year or two rent.    That would also put you into the farm category as far as taxes I think.  I am not sure if planting trees would require some sort of fencing to protect them from deer and wild hogs.  Also irrigation of some sort?


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## chickens really

That idea sounds great. Renting out the land or trade the land for a butchered steer? It would be a win, win for both parties 👍😊


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I think I will look into seeing if I can find someone interested in the area for raising cattle.  Thanks for the ideas.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @thistlebloom, Miss @Wild Bug Ranch, Miss @bethh, Miss @Larsen Poultry Ranch, Miss @Duckfarmerpa1, Miss @drstratton, @Miss @MuldrowHomeFarm, Miss @Chickensreally, and others I may have missed,

I am specifically calling you out in this post to make you aware of my having Asperger Syndrome and how that affects my wording and behavior at times.  I was reminded of my condition when I mentioned it on Miss @Ridgetop's journal in this post: https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/ridgetop-our-place-and-how-we-muddle-along.38119/post-657313.

You folks joined the forum since I last described it in detail on my journal (located at https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...-relief-for-the-rest-of-you.38161/post-622357).  I posted that description because I had posted some quite (unintentionally) intrusive questions on other folks' journals.  Fortunately, someone on the forum kindly contacted me to point out how rude I was being.  (To the person who kindly contacted me, I again say "Thank you".)  Recently I even asked such a question of you, Miss @thistlebloom, when I asked about the name of a lake that appeared in a picture you posted.  Fortunately, you did not take offense and even made a joke about not wanting folks from Texas coming for a visit!

So if I ever ask what you consider to be an intrusive or personal question, please know I mean no offense.  Instead, please state you consider it too intrusive or personal and I will apologize.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## thistlebloom

No worries here STA! I may have an overdeveloped sense of humor which can come across as rudeness to some. 
The exchanges via internet forums can be cumbersome since it's not in person and difficult sometimes to gauge another's intent.

As for me, I am not offended by questions, if it's something I'd rather not answer, I just won't answer! LOL


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## bethh

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Miss @thistlebloom, Miss @Wild Bug Ranch, Miss @bethh, Miss @Larsen Poultry Ranch, Miss @Duckfarmerpa1, Miss @drstratton, @Miss @MuldrowHomeFarm, Miss @Chickensreally, and others I may have missed,
> 
> I am specifically calling you out in this post to make you aware of my having Asperger Syndrome and how that affects my wording and behavior at times.  I was reminded of my condition when I mentioned it on Miss @Ridgetop's journal in this post: https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/ridgetop-our-place-and-how-we-muddle-along.38119/post-657313.
> 
> You folks joined the forum since I last described it in detail on my journal (located at https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...-relief-for-the-rest-of-you.38161/post-622357).  I posted that description because I had posted some quite (unintentionally) intrusive questions on other folks' journals.  Fortunately, someone on the forum kindly contacted me to point out how rude I was being.  (To the person who kindly contacted me, I again say "Thank you".)  Recently I even asked such a question of you, Miss @thistlebloom, when I asked about the name of a lake that appeared in a picture you posted.  Fortunately, you did not take offense and even made a joke about not wanting folks from Texas coming for a visit!
> 
> So if I ever ask what you consider to be an intrusive or personal question, please know I mean no offense.  Instead, please state you consider it too intrusive or personal and I will apologize.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


Thanks for being upfront and open.   I will keep this in mind if I ever feel that way.  I hope you’re having a wonderful day.


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## drstratton

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Miss @thistlebloom, Miss @Wild Bug Ranch, Miss @bethh, Miss @Larsen Poultry Ranch, Miss @Duckfarmerpa1, Miss @drstratton, @Miss @MuldrowHomeFarm, Miss @Chickensreally, and others I may have missed,
> 
> I am specifically calling you out in this post to make you aware of my having Asperger Syndrome and how that affects my wording and behavior at times.  I was reminded of my condition when I mentioned it on Miss @Ridgetop's journal in this post: https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/ridgetop-our-place-and-how-we-muddle-along.38119/post-657313.
> 
> You folks joined the forum since I last described it in detail on my journal (located at https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...-relief-for-the-rest-of-you.38161/post-622357).  I posted that description because I had posted some quite (unintentionally) intrusive questions on other folks' journals.  Fortunately, someone on the forum kindly contacted me to point out how rude I was being.  (To the person who kindly contacted me, I again say "Thank you".)  Recently I even asked such a question of you, Miss @thistlebloom, when I asked about the name of a lake that appeared in a picture you posted.  Fortunately, you did not take offense and even made a joke about not wanting folks from Texas coming for a visit!
> 
> So if I ever ask what you consider to be an intrusive or personal question, please know I mean no offense.  Instead, please state you consider it too intrusive or personal and I will apologize.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


I have never felt that from you! Thank you for sharing. 💞


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## MuldrowHomeFarm

@Senile_Texas_Aggie , Thank you but I am not offended by questions and I don't mind folks knowing the area I live in but if it is something too personal, I will send the info privately and say so. Thanks for being so considerate.


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## Baymule

As always STA, you are concerned for the feelings of others. No worries here for your Asperger's.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks to every one of you for your understanding!  I hope not to do something stupid in a hurtful kind of way. (Doing something stupid in a comic kind of way comes naturally to me).

Calling all tractor owners!  I have avoided doing any more work around or homestead that involved using the mower, as I am rather reluctant to break another shear pin.  I fear that if I break many more that I will end up breaking the shaft coming out of the mower's gear box.  But I need to make a decision soon, as grass keeps growing, whether I mow it or not.

If I decide to buy a new mower, what type and brand of mower would you recommend I buy or avoid?  I currently have a Rhino SE-6 rotary cutter sometimes called a bush hog, although that is a brand name for that style cutter.  But maybe I should consider a flail mower.  Whatever kind or brand of mower I get, it needs to be able to handle hitting small stumps and sometimes ground contact as well as cutting small trees (< 2" in diameter).  So what recommendations for type and brand do you have that I should consider or avoid?

Also, as I have mentioned here before, in lieu of buying a new mower I am considering buying a slip clutch for the mower or PTO drive line from the tractor.  There are several slip clutches listed at TS's web site.  Here are two of them:




 $189.99. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...ch-1-3-8-in-6-spline-both-ends?cm_vc=-10005##. This one looks interesting, as it appears to go over the spline on the tractor. It could protect not only the mower but my wood chipper as well. But I don't know if the clutch would clear the surrounding frame and shield around the tractor's PTO spline.



 $129.99. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...-clutch-1-3-8-in-round-both-ends?cm_vc=IOPDP1.  This one looks like it would protect the mower.  I am not sure that the other end of the clutch has a female receptacle on the shaft to fit over the shaft coming from the mower's gear box.  If not, then I don't see how I could use this.

Comments?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

You are way out of my knowledge level with the slip clutches but the first one looks interesting. I suspect you would need to temporarily take the shield off to install it. After that you can just attach the PTO shaft as usual. Then I guess you have to think about: are there any attachments you have or want that would NOT work as well with the slip clutch in place. If so, how easy or hard it is to install/remove the clutch could help make a decision.

I don't think you want a flail if you plan on hitting stumps or cutting big diameter trees.  The knives or hammers would not take kindly to being slammed into stumps. I think mine is rated only for 1" and I don't know that I would want to run those over before they got to the flail anyway. You CAN back up over something with a flail but you darn well better know that you aren't going to be shoving the rear roller into something. With a rotary mower you can mow in reverse as well as forward. I think the rotary mowers have the blades attached at one end so the can bounce off objects without too much damage. I think that no matter what mower you have, when you are in the "stumps and high ground" areas, drive slow and keep that hand on the 3 pt lever!


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## Mike CHS

You could also check and see what it would cost to have the stumps ground down.  Most I can get out with my tractor (during the wet season) but I have had the grinder out a couple of times and it's pretty reasonable.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> I don't think you want a flail if you plan on hitting stumps or cutting big diameter trees. The knives or hammers would not take kindly to being slammed into stumps. I think mine is rated only for 1" and I don't know that I would want to run those over before they got to the flail anyway. You CAN back up over something with a flail but you darn well better know that you aren't going to be shoving the rear roller into something. With a rotary mower you can mow in reverse as well as forward. I think the rotary mowers have the blades attached at one end so the can bounce off objects without too much damage. I think that no matter what mower you have, when you are in the "stumps and high ground" areas, drive slow and keep that hand on the 3 pt lever!



That's what I thought regarding a flail mower, but I wanted to hear it from someone who owns one.  Believe me, I have learned the hard way about going slow and being quick to raise the 3-pt hitch and the transmission clutch at the same time!



Mike CHS said:


> You could also check and see what it would cost to have the stumps ground down. Most I can get out with my tractor (during the wet season) but I have had the grinder out a couple of times and it's pretty reasonable.



I have considered buying a stump grinder for the tractor.  Do you or anyone else have a good one you could recommend?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Mike CHS

Our guy charges $75 an hour to grind stumps and he can usually get everything I need done in less than an hour and a half so I'll keep using him.  He can knock out a 24" stump in a matter of minutes.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I have considered buying a stump grinder for the tractor. Do you or anyone else have a good one you could recommend?


I'm sure you've seen TTWT and his Baumalight. 
I think this is the one Tim has but not certain
Remember, 5% off with coupon code TTWT 
It would cost about 35 hours of Mike's stump grinder guy's time.


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## farmerjan

Sometimes it makes more sense economically to rent or pay a service than to have a piece of equipment that costs a fair deal then sits 85% of the time.... taking up space and requiring maintenance also.


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## Bruce

Yep. And if there is a place around STA that rents 3 PT stump grinders he has the ability to pick up and return. Probably cost much less than $75/hr. At that point it becomes a question of "what else would I be doing with my time" if I paid someone (assuming there is someone near STA that does stump grinding).

So STA, do you have a quantity of stumps to grind now then no more or will you be cutting trees on a regular basis that will need the stumps ground out?


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## Ridgetop

No worries about offending anyone on here STA.  I do have questions about Asbergers and want to look up the symptoms and what exactly it is.  My DD1 is having her highly gifted child tested because he fools around dong his school work.  Of course, since he was 2 she has pushed him, buying workbooks that he had to complete in addition to his homework, and workbooks and teaching all summer long.  She has done that with her other 2 children as well and now has decided that the eldest has some sort of learning disability because he doesn't gleefully do all his homework and extra workbooks immediately.  This is a child that is in the highly gifted program and consistently gets top grades.  DD1 makes them do their homework over and over until the neatness meets her standards of handwriting.  I have told her to let them hand it in as they do it and let the teacher reprimand them and give them a lower grade if it merits one but she is very OCD. 

I told her a long time ago that the children needed to have outside playtime without constant work books but she wouldn't listen.  I told her she would burn them out on learning and that is what I think is happening.  Now since the 6 year old is mimicking her almost 13 year old brother's behavior over lessons she has decided that that child has the same problem.  My opinion is that DGD1 sees her brother getting attention (although it is unpleasant attention of the punishment kind) and is trying that behavior for herself.  

My daughter does not think I know anything.  I raised 3 boys with learning disabilities, 1 adopted child with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and terrible emotional issues from abuse, as well as having my Early Childhood Education Certificate.  Because of my boys I researched learning disabilities heavily.  Their disabilities were all language related and with special schooling they all graduated from high school and college.  During my time teaching preschool I diagnosed several cases of learning problems which were diagnosed ranging from Autism, Tourettes, and slow mental delay.  My preschool director told me I was like Typhoid Mary and shouldn't tell the parents their kids needed testing, but the parents were very grateful to find out that someone had noticed behavior that was puzzling them. They were able to get their children into special education classes early enough to make a difference.

I do not have a college degree however, and my DD1 and SIL1 apparently think I am not bright enough for advice, consequently I have not continued with any advice since the last time she brought up testing and I told her she needed to let the children have some unstructured free time to play.  Since my DD1 refused to even acknowledge that I might be correct and try this, she has decided that there is something wrong with the child.  they had his tested, however, my SIL did not want to pay for the extended testing instead wanted to immediately put DGS1 on medication.  Her Dad and I both were very upset to hear that but we are not the parents so . . . . 

I am really worried about this situation.  I'm sorry to have highjacked your tractor thread.  I will cut and paste this onto  my Ridgetop page instead.


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## Bruce

Ridgetop said:


> but she is very OCD


Sounds to me like SHE is the one with a disability. She's going to make sure her kids absolutely hate school and learning.

STA can tell you more about Aspergers and of course you can learn plenty online. It used to be considered a separate disability but is now part of the autism scale. I don't think what you described is even remotely related to Aspergers.

The 2 people I know with it (one being STA so I don't REALLY know him) are quite intelligent. The one I know personally can write brilliantly but finds talking to people uncomfortable. In fact he told me that looking people in the eye is physically painful, can you imagine living with that?? But he forced himself to deal with his discomfort talking to people. He liked figure skating, he would come to the rink and just watch. I was the club prez at the time and people asked me to check him out. As you might know most figure skaters are young girls and teens and they were worried he was some sort of stalker pedophile. It didn't help at all that when they talked to him he wouldn't say much and wouldn't look at them. He will talk to people he knows well but doesn't look them in the eye often. Seriously does not like to be touched, you know, the friendly hand on the shoulder sort of thing. He has a BS degree and his job is in data analysis. Good job for someone that doesn't enjoy interacting with people much.

When he was 18 he decided he wanted to be a figure skating judge. That is a tight community (and cliquish at times). If they don't like you personally getting an appointment is nearly impossible. He also decided that if he was going to judge he should know how to skate as well. So he took lessons, joined the adult Theatre on Ice team. Studied the judging standards, did trial judging. Forced himself to look the other judges in the eye and be a friendly person. I suspect there was serious emotional pain involved but he masked it. Last I knew he had a Gold appointment in Moves (footwork)  and Freestyle/Pairs (jumps, spins,etc) . That means he can judge any test of those types, there aren't that many Gold level judges. Believe me I pulled a few hairs out when I was the test chair trying to find a panel with 3 Gold judges. I suspect by now he also has appointments for dance. If you can find a Gold judge for all three (Moves, Freestyle/Pairs, Dance) you hit the jackpot. Finding 3 GGG judges that were available when you needed them would be hitting the Powerball. Most often you need to find a group of 5+ judges to run Gold tests of all three types at a test session or for a competition. It is especially hard to find Gold Dance judges.


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## Ridgetop

I love this story.  Most people with learning disabilities have above average intelligence.  Learning disabilities are not to be confused with mental slowness.   It is why most of those children remain undiscovered until it is too late to intervene and help them be achievers.  That is why I believe in early testing and intervention.  It is very sad which is why if I thought my grandchildren needed testing I would have been Johnny On The spot!  You are right.  I really think DD1 is the one who has a problem but impossible to get her to hear it from me.  I wonder if my FDIL who works with children with disabilities and has her BA in that field would be able to talk to DD1.  

Well, enough of that here.  I am dying to hear more about STA and his new tractor.  Talley-Ho STA!!!


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## Bruce

Ridgetop said:


> I wonder if my FDIL who works with children with disabilities and has her BA in that field would be able to talk to DD1.


I guess DD1 would at least respect the current work and the degree. The question is: What does she think of FDIL, do they get along, does she generally respect her? But, sadly, I suspect DD1 isn't going to listen to anyone. MUST get those kids into the best schools by constant studying.


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## farmerjan

And sadly, if the kids don't get a chance to be kids some of the time, they will get to a point and then rebel..... and that could be a disastrous wake up call as it might come too late to get them back on track.  

I sure hope someone can get through her head that all work (books) and no play will destroy these kids....

And woe to this younger generation that thinks that without a list of letters behind your name that you are some dumb backwoods  know nothing..... where common sense was something that was admired and life's experiences counted for a whole lot....DD1 needs to get a good swift smack upside her head to wake her up.


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## Bruce

Oh, let me!!!!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Ridgetop said:


> ...
> My daughter does not think I know anything. I raised 3 boys with learning disabilities, 1 adopted child with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and terrible emotional issues from abuse, as well as having my Early Childhood Education Certificate. Because of my boys I researched learning disabilities heavily. Their disabilities were all language related and with special schooling they all graduated from high school and college. During my time teaching preschool I diagnosed several cases of learning problems which were diagnosed ranging from Autism, Tourettes, and slow mental delay. My preschool director told me I was like Typhoid Mary and shouldn't tell the parents their kids needed testing, but the parents were very grateful to find out that someone had noticed behavior that was puzzling them. They were able to get their children into special education classes early enough to make a difference.
> ...
> I am really worried about this situation. I'm sorry to have highjacked your tractor thread. I will cut and paste this onto my Ridgetop page instead.



Please do not remove your post from my journal.  I very much appreciate your sharing your experience and I feel honored that you posted it here.  I would encourage you to either provide a link on your journal to this post or copy the text to a new post on your journal, as I think it would benefit those people who read your journal but not mine to learn of the experiences and knowledge you have.



Bruce said:


> STA can tell you more about Aspergers and of course you can learn plenty online.
> ...
> The one I know personally can write brilliantly but finds talking to people uncomfortable. In fact he told me that looking people in the eye is physically painful, can you imagine living with that?? But he forced himself to deal with his discomfort talking to people.



I was not formally diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome (per DSM-V, now part of the Autism Spectrum), only self diagnosed, and that was only about 5 years ago.  I don't have a number of the symptoms commonly associated with Asperger syndrome.  I don't mind physical contact, don't have problems looking people in the eye, and the only physical sensitivity I have is to noise.  In fact, I would never have looked into Asperger Syndrome except for two things that happened.  The first happened about 10 years ago, when during a talk with my mental health therapist at the time, she happened to mention it.  When I got home and mentioned it to my Beautiful Gal and my younger sister, they did research and thought that it applied to me.  I then did research in the DSM-IV (which was current at the time) but the symptoms did not seem to apply to me, so I didn't think any more about it.

The second thing that happened was about 5 years ago, when my Beautiful Gal and I went through a really rough time in our marriage (almost exclusively my fault).  We decided to read books on people with Asperger marriage partners.  The very first book we read was one about a normal woman married to an Asperger man.  What an eye opener!  On just about every page we read, there was something that seemed to fit us, making us either laugh or cry in recognition.  We read several more books together.  What we learned explained so much of the difficulties we had endured during our marriage.  It also explained so much about the difficulties I faced in life, especially in high school.  I later took 2 different Aspie tests on-line (one called Aspie Quiz), both of which confirmed what the books we read seemed to indicate.  I was well above the threshold for Asperger syndrome, while my Beautiful Gal scored well within the normal range.



Bruce said:


> So STA, do you have a quantity of stumps to grind now then no more or will you be cutting trees on a regular basis that will need the stumps ground out?



Most of the stumps I have are rather small in size (< 2") but a few are substantially larger.  I will probably try to get rid of them using either my stump bucket or maybe the chain saw and cut in the middle of the stump down below the ground.  If stump grinders were cheaper, I would buy one of those, but at $5000+ for one rated for my tractor, I will have to think long and hard before I spend the money.

Thanks to everyone who commented.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Does your tractor have a backhoe? 
I would think the stump bucket would be fine for taking out small trees. Rip on the sides to break the roots same as you would with a backhoe or excavator. If you cut any maybe leave a few feet of stump to get some mechanical advantage for pushing against?

I'm sure you've been watching OTWM, Mike removing all those trees with the big excavator he rented. I'm surprised that there isn't all that much in the way of tap roots and I think he's pushed over 6 different species - cherry, ash, walnut, maple, elm, oak. None had a big tap root.


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## thistlebloom

Bruce said:


> I'm surprised that there isn't all that much in the way of tap roots and I think he's pushed over 6 different species - cherry, ash, walnut, maple, elm, oak. None had a big tap root.




Trees don't keep their tap roots once they begin to mature. They develop the buttress roots, and surface water gathering roots.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Does your tractor have a backhoe?



No.  That was one expense I could not see paying for itself.  Maybe if I had one I would decide that it would be well worth the money.  I certainly got a good bit of use from the mini excavator I twice rented, although the second rental was almost exclusively for digging up and then tearing up my water supply line!


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## Bruce

Renting a mini ex for digging out those stumps is also an option  Figure out (and mark those stumps) what projects you can use it for, do a "I need good weather the week of ..." dance and get the most for your rental money.


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch

Can you get some of those flags that are on a pole several feet tall like they use for go carts and use them to mark the location of the stumps until you can remove them? That way you can mow around those spots and not hit the stumps?


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## Ridgetop

Thanks STA for not minding me posting my stuff - I am copying and reposting it on my Ridgetop site as well, along with more follow up on other stuff. 

Many times people with certain problems are so borderline as to escape diagnosis.  DD2 was adopted by us at age 14, 1 year after her 2nd adoptive mother , my cousin, died of cancer and her 2nd adoptive father decided to shove her into foster care.  She has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome which was never diagnosed, and absence seizures.  (She was punished for having these "space out" type seizures as "not paying attention or ignoring her parents.  After she came to us, it took 2 years of testing, changes to 3 different neurologists, and a 3 day stay in Children's Hospital hooked up to a brain wave machine to finally get her seizures identified and diagnosed.  She also spent 4 years in counselling for her previous 14 years of sexual and physical abuse when we learned about those experiences.  All experiences I will talk about in the Ridgetop postings instead of here.

Often, as you learned, self diagnosis is really necessary after reading the symptoms and applying them to your ownlife experiences.  Kudos to you and your Beautiful Gal for not giving up on your marriage and finding the cause of your behavorial experiences.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

On Thursday I ordered one of the slip clutches I mentioned in an earlier post, namely this one:




It arrived late Friday and Tractor Supply delivered it directly to my house.  Probably less than 5 minutes after the guy left I opened it up to see what it looked like and if it might fit.  Much to my surprise, there were two different stickers on the clutch, one of which read "Implement side only" and the other of which showed a tractor with the circle and slash through it, meaning (I assumed) not to attach to the PTO spline on the tractor.  Nowhere on the web page was this stated.  Since I could not use this particular clutch on the mower side, on Saturday I returned the clutch for a refund.

I have reached the 95 hour mark on the tractor, so I will be doing the 100 hour service some time soon (probably today).

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Very sad!!!! What do they expect it to be attached to if not the tractor's PTO? 

100 hours already! You've been working that tractor


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> 100 hours already! You've been working that tractor



Yes, I have.  I expect to have 300 hours on it by the end of the year!

Yesterday, I decided to burn the 3 remaining brush piles I had.  Two of them burned just fine, but the 3rd burned slowly and not nearly completely.  Oh, well, I expect to have plenty more brush to burn once I finish cleaning things up for the year.  I also had delivered two loads of road material, 1 of crushed concrete and 1 of slag.  I plan on putting down the slag near the creek once the weather gets nicer (it's raining here today).  I used a small portion of the crushed concrete as filler for the drainage ditch I dug early this year to make a french drain for that area.  I put down landscaping fabric, PVC pipe with holes drilled near the bottom to allow water to enter and drain off, then the crushed concrete, then more landscape fabric, then dirt and grass.  We'll see how well it works.  Of course, dummy me didn't think to take before pictures, so the after pictures wouldn't do much good.  If there are no pictures to prove work is done, did it really get done?

I think now that I have used the tractor for a little over a month, I will give my impressions:

Good:
+ enclosed cab. That A/C is nice. Instead of being soaked in sweat and dust at the end of the day, I feel relatively nice.
+ engine power. A few times now I have done chores that my previous tractor could not, such as pulling a large tree truck from the tree that blew down early this year to the burn pile.
+ loader lift capacity and frame. I knew that the bridge I built to replace the narrow one over the ditch between the southern-most hayed pasture to the overgrown area would have been too heavy for my older tractor to lift. But this tractor had no problems at all.
+ high ground clearance and better underside protection. Bushes and small trees that I went over in my older tractor would often tear wires loose from underneath it. They are what bent the oil filler tube that caused the loss of oil that in turn ruined the engine. This tractor has much better protection.
+ level bucket indicator. This indicates when the bucket is level or not.
+ self leveling loader. This is great for material handling, such as when using pallet forks, bale spears, etc. What this means is that raising and lowering the front end loader does not alter the angle of the bucket or other attachment relative to the ground. Thus, if you pick up a hay bale using the bale spear or a pallet using the pallet forks and then raise the loader up a considerable distance, the load remains level, instead of tilting back.

Bad:
+ enclosed cab. In the few times I have wanted to go near or among trees, the cab has both protected me from limbs and has also gotten beat up by them. Overall I still would prefer the cab, but it is a drawback in or near trees and bushes.
+ self leveling loader. The problem with the self leveling loader not tilting back prevents me from using my tree shear like I would like. Formerly, if I wanted to reach up high with the tree shear to cut off limbs, on my older tractor actually tilting back was a good thing, allowing me to reach higher than I can with the new tractor.
+ flaky SSQA plate and attachment angle. Both my grapple and tree shear are prone to detach from the adaptor on the tractor. I thus must be "gentle" with them. I never had that problem with my previous tractor. Also, the angle of the SSQA adapter plate is such when the level bucket indicator indicates "level", both the grapple and tree shear are pointed down about 20° or so. I then must use a portion of the curl travel simply to level those attachments. Couple that with the self leveling bucket, and a good portion of the usibility of the two attachments is reduced.
+ poor visibility for hooking up SSQA attachments. The same frames and cover that give the front end loader its strength also makes hooking up attachments really hard, as I am unable to see the attachment plates and how they are lining up to the attachment points. Currently I can only see the attachment plates if I rise out of the tractor seat and lean way over to the left or right. If I rise up, the tractor thinks the seat is unoccupied and then kills the engine. Thus, I have to approach the attachment, put the tractor in neutral and set the parking break, rise up off the seat to look, then sit back down and release the parking brake and engage the clutch, move a bit, then repeat. Alternatively, I will set the brake and get out of the cab to look. Either way, what formerly took 1-2 minutes before now takes up to 10 minutes.
+ unable to "feather" the clutch.  I expect that this will improve as the tractor breaks in, but currently I am unable to feather the clutch, i.e., partially engage the clutch so that I move slowly, such as when approaching attachments.  Instead, the clutch is either fully engaged or fully disengaged.  It makes for an "interesting" experience when needing to move VERY slowly and tentatively.

So overall I am happy with the tractor, but it certainly has its quirks.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Given all the goodies it already has, could you put a camera on the hood or loader so you could see the SSQA parts?
And the dealer gave up on the SSQA problems?

I gather there is no way to disengage the self leveling loader?

Guess I have no ideas for the clutch problem. That is an advantage with the hydro. My tractor has one of those rocker pedals for forward/reverse and the brake pedal is also on the right. I think that is a superb design. I can stand and use both pedals with my right foot for "creeping" to attach either in the front or back.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Given all the goodies it already has, could you put a camera on the hood or loader so you could see the SSQA parts?
> And the dealer gave up on the SSQA problems?
> 
> I gather there is no way to disengage the self leveling loader?
> 
> Guess I have no ideas for the clutch problem. That is an advantage with the hydro. My tractor has one of those rocker pedals for forward/reverse and the brake pedal is also on the right. I think that is a superb design. I can stand and use both pedals with my right foot for "creeping" to attach either in the front or back.



Maybe I could put a camera on the front end loader, but it would need to be temporary.  If I mounted a camera there permanently, it would almost certainly get knocked loose/off whenever I entered some brush.  As for the dealer giving up on the SSQA problems, I haven't talked to them since they visited.  Until I can prove that the SSQA adapter fails with the bucket which came with the tractor, I won't have any way of convincing them that it is the SSQA adapter's fault.

I am glad I got the power shuttle instead of the hydro.  I like the dependability of a manual transmission compared to an automatic.  Recently Messicks compared the two types of transmissions on two otherwise identical Kubotas and the manual transmission won hands down compared to the hydro when it came to putting power to the ground.  (See past my signature.)  But yes, a hydro can be nice for things like hooking up an attachment.  I am surprised that you can stand while driving your tractor.  I would expect the occupant safety switch located under the seat wouldn't kill the engine.  Did you bypass it?

Yesterday I drove to Fort Smith and bought another mower -- a Landpride 6 ft RCR1872.  This one is rated for my tractor and has a slip clutch, so I hope it would get too riled up whenever I hit a stump.  I hope to try it our some time today or tomorrow.

No more news on the homestead.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I am surprised that you can stand while driving your tractor. I would expect the occupant safety switch located under the seat wouldn't kill the engine. Did you bypass it?


Not overridden. Have to be sitting in the seat and press in the clutch pedal to start the tractor. That doesn't seem to be the case with (at least the smaller) JD's. I've seen TTWT start his 1025R while standing next to the tractor. I suppose he could have overridden the OSS? 

It is a good thing I CAN stand while the tractor is running, makes it a lot more possible to line up the SSQA or see where the front of the forks are relative to what I need to pick up off the ground. And it would be kind of annoying if I had to restart the tractor after getting off to close the levers on the SSQA. Or when I need to open a gate and then again after passing through and having to close it. And do I really want to sit in the seat for 10 minutes while the tractor warms up in colder weather?


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## farmerjan

THANK GOD none of our tractors require you to have to be seated to start or run the tractors.... how many times have I put the 4600 ford in neutral after starting it and getting the wheel rake to lift up all the way so I can get off and remove the hitch pins that hold it up as a safety feature to travel with it... they settle down a little while in transit and then have to be raised back up so you can pull the pins.... then get back on it to go... and all the gates I have to go through into different fields.... 
my mower was such that you had to be sitting on it, in neutral to start it, but I could get off it after it was running....
Would be the first thing to get disconnected if it was on anything we owned...


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## Bruce

My garden tractor will run about 5 minutes if I'm off the seat IF I've set the brake AND the PTO is disengaged. Otherwise it shuts off as soon as I lift my butt up.


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## rachels.haven

Bruce said:


> My garden tractor will run about 5 minutes if I'm off the seat IF I've set the brake AND the PTO is disengaged. Otherwise it shuts off as soon as I lift my butt up.



Full feed sack. A big rock might work too.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I thought I would provide an update on what has been happening lately.

First, my Beautiful Gal's next older sister Treasa and her husband James recovered from COVID-19 with no long-term ill effects.  We are all glad that happened.

On Monday I decided to try out my new mower.  After installing the mower to the tractor, I raised up the rear of the mower (by shortening the hydraulic top link) in order to more easily access underneath the mower.  I considered removing the guards from the mower, fearing that they would become bent from hanging on tree stumps.  The guards were not easily removed so I decided to leave them on.  When I went to mow, I had forgotten about having raised the mower.  So when I dropped the mower with the 3-pt hitch, the mower's tail wheel was not even touching the ground.  I decided to lower the 3-pt hitch, thinking that perhaps the mower sat lower to the ground than the previous mower.  Then I heard the blades hitting the ground.  The slip clutch started smoking.  I raised the mower back up, knowing that something was wrong.  Then I noticed the top link being fully shortened.  Once I lengthened the top link to its correct link, when I set the mower back down using the 3-pt hitch to where I had previously, the tail wheel touch the ground and the blades were not digging into the ground.

I then took the mower to where there were several small stumps that caused my previous mower to break shear pins.  This time, the mower cut through the grass, and when it hit the small stumps, the slip clutch worked and the mower was able to keep on mowing.  So now I can mow my pastures along the edge of the woods without fear of breaking a shear pin.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## B&B Happy goats

Well that's  good news all the way around STA , congratulations  on having a mower now that will do the job for you without all of the past headaches


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## farmerjan

Glad this one is working for you and is heavy enough to do what you are trying to do.  Better to have it all at the same capabilities than to have a too light mower with a slip clutch and all and wind up damaging the tractor or something much more expensive to deal with.  
Yeah, it helps to have it lowered to a "level" instead at an angle with the blades digging in.....


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## goatgurl

hey STA good to see that things are truckin' alone at your place and that you and your beautiful gal are well.   the ongoing tractor saga continues.  i'm just glad the darn thing hasn't hurt you.   i read with interest your thinking about renting your pasture for someone to run cattle on.  i did that this late spring and it has been s great help to me.  the cow guy keeps the place brush hogged and the fences repaired so it has worked out well.  if you decide that you want someone to help you get rid of the stumps, etc give me a holler.  i know a young man who does land clearing and that sort of work who lives in your area.  TTFN


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @goatgurl,

Good to hear from you.  Regarding your leasing out your land for cattle raising, did you already have good fencing in place?  And how did you find the guy who rented it from you?  Currently we have either really bad fences, which wouldn't keep in a blind 3-legged goat, or no fences at all.  So whoever leased our place for fencing would need to invest a good bit of money for fencing or perhaps have docile cows acclimated to electric fence.  Either way, I doubt I would find anyone interested in leasing the place.  But maybe I am being a bit too pessimistic.  I think Greg Judy leases a lot of his land from others, and I think he only uses electric fencing.  So maybe it would be possible.

All,

My Beautiful Gal asked me to look into getting an electric generator.  I know very little about them.  I watched a few YouTube videos about generators, but still don't feel qualified to make a decision.  I would even consider a backup battery bank if the cost of that is comparable to an electric generator.  I would consider a gasoline, diesel, or propane powered one.  Any advice or suggestions?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Mike CHS

We have a portable now but have not used it a single time since moving in.  I had a Generac propane (whole house) unit when I lived in hurricane country in Florida and loved the simplicity of use as well as what I considered a reasonable price.


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## frustratedearthmother

I recently purchased a 17,500 Generac gas powered.  I don't have propane so that was out and I wanted something that was at least 'sorta' portable. The diesel ones the size I wanted weren't available as portable and of course the gas powered one was more economical.

 My son is an electrician so he hooked it up to the breaker box for us.  All we have to do is turn off the main breaker, start the generator (electric start) and flip another breaker and we're good to go.  Today was the first time we put a load on it and everything worked beautifully.  

I have another smaller gas powered generator also.  It's a 4000.  I used it for nearly two weeks many years ago when Hurricane Ike hit us.  It wouldn't run the whole house but it got us through.  Wouldn't run the Central AC - but had no problem with a small window unit.  We just alternated things like fridge and freezer.


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## farmerjan

If you are looking at whole house, go with a propane unit.  Even if you don't have anything else propane.  The whole house ones will automatically kick on if your power goes out for more than a certain amount of time, like 5 minutes or something.  I believe they can be set differently.  Most of our stuff on the farm is diesel.  So we have that available.  Gas ones are cheaper.  You can get a dual fuel one that is usually gas and propane and can run off one of the small propane tanks like you get for a grill, or off a bigger one. 
One thing to consider about gas or even diesel..... If there is no power, the gas stations do not have power either.  So what do you do in the case of say a derechio where the power is out for days or weeks?  When there is no gas or diesel to be had.  Also, both gas and diesel will break down in storage for any length of time.... gas especially.  So it isn't like you can keep a 100 gal tank of gas and only use 10 gal out of it a couple times a year.... you need to be using it and replenishing it.  If you store it in 5 gal gas cans the rule of thumb is to not store longer than 2-4 weeks max.  
Propane is storable.... you may get a little "bleedoff" if the tank is in the summer sun.... but not that much.  You can get a bigger tank and have it there ready to go.  It is better if you have something else to use the propane, so you are getting a fillup of the tank every so often....Don't you have a gas heater inside that looks like a fireplace?  
If it is electric, then it won't do you a bit of good in a power outage.... but a small gas "fireplace" will help heat a room or two in a house.... of course if you have the generator then you won't need it.  But that small gas heater will also cut down on your electric bill if you use it during the winter when the power is working. Some have fans, that need electricity, but some have like a battery backup that can be used if the power goes out. 
So my vote is for a propane fueled generator.... and you can store more than a weeks worth of propane without worrying about the "gas getting stale",  and not having to go somewhere to find the gas when everyone else's power is out too. 
You can get a dual fueled smaller one, but get the biggest one you can afford as they use less fuel if sized for the load and not working so hard...6500 or bigger if you want to do very much at the same time.
Propane is also much more economical in most places.  It is produced in the shale oil fields also, so is one of the things that has made the USA energy independent along with the oil reserves....
Of course if AOC and all them get in, you will have to be all "GREEN"  in like 20 years.... guess all our tractors will sit and everyone will be using horses and go back to trying to homestead 160 acres and no one will be transporting much feed over the roads......and your house will have to be solar and good luck to those of you in cold climates because too many wood burning stoves will cause pollution too.....
I am not against solar or wind or hydro....but there are things it just isn't going to be practical for.... Can you imagine how long it would take a solar powered tractor to harvest the amount of corn acres in just Iowa, in the time frame it has to be gotten done....???? 
I had that trip on the steam train a couple of weeks ago, but I sure don't think I want to go back to steam trains as a major mode of transportation for cross country moving of PERISHABLE GOODS.... We will never be able to have strawberries in MN in winter from FL.... or grapefruit.... or any crop grown in Ca shipped across country because how are they going to fuel the refrigerated cars  

Well, that is my 2 cents.... and another couple of $$$ worth of opinion!!!!


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## farmerjan

If your tractor is diesel, do you have a larger tank on the property for diesel so you don't have to cart 5 gal cans all the time?  Ask at your local co-op.... or if the house is diesel, that same #2 fuel oil (diesel) can be run in the tractor if you have a hand pump to pump it into the tractor tank.  That is all "off road" diesel....it is not dyed, and is not subject to road taxes like what you get at the pumps....  So a diesel would not be impractical that way.... but in cold weather diesel fuel can "gel" and make it like molasses trying to be sucked up a small straw.... you would have to get winterized diesel....we just add a couple 5 gal cans of kerosene to the diesel storage tanks... or a gal or so in the tractor when we fill it up if it is real cold.... makes it starting easier.... but we don't have all the heaters that they have on the new ones.... a block heater on one tractor and a couple have the heater that goes in the oil pan (?) .  All the trucks have heaters to plug in as well as several have glow plugs that help to heat it before you start it....


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I would even consider a backup battery bank if the cost of that is comparable to an electric generator.


Up front cost of battery storage is high, far more than the cost of a generator if you have enough to run a decent portion of the house for a long period. I assume you would be charging them via the grid until the power goes out? 

I am hoping to get another solar array and battery storage (make use of fed tax credits since we owe a ton of taxes for this year). DW just got a 2020 Leaf and drives 70 miles round trip 6 days a week. Don't want to pay ever rising electric company prices to fuel the car. Also might get some mini-split heat pumps so that would need more electric power as well.



farmerjan said:


> you may get a little "bleedoff" if the tank is in the summer sun.


Our 250 gallon propane tank is buried. 



farmerjan said:


> but a small gas "fireplace" will help heat a room or two in a house


And if the experience of a rental house some people I know were in, will run a fortune in propane. Maybe that was was just poorly designed? 



farmerjan said:


> Propane is also much more economical in most places.


"Most" being key. I got on the pre-buy plan this year, didn't know I was eligible for it until last Feb. 600 gallons PREPAID is about $2.50/gallon. I was paying almost $4.50 last winter. Yep, the propane company COULD have contacted me and let me know I was eligible for the program and it would save me money. I have paid THOUSANDS of $$ more that I needed to.



farmerjan said:


> that same #2 fuel oil (diesel) can be run in the tractor


Not quite the same. Near as I can tell the sulfur content in #2 fuel oil is higher than that required for diesel fuel. I don't know if the higher sulfur would have any effect on a modern diesel tractor or generator engine though. I add an ounce of anti-gel to the 5 gallon "cans" of off road diesel in the winter. 

Anyone want a nice looking 1949 Farmall C?? There is one for sale just up the road from me.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

We currently have a 500 gallon propane tank that sits just south of our shop.  There is a non-functional propane backup generator already connected to the propane and to the electrical circuits of our house.  Maybe it would make sense to simply replace the old generator with a new one instead of buying a gasoline or diesel generator.  I will look into what's available.

We currently have a propane fireplace which we use for heat in the winter, along with electric space heaters.  The first winter here we burned through a tank of propane by December.  It cost us $900 to refill it.  Ouch!  We quickly turned off the central heat and bought electric space heaters.  Since we like our house to be cool (especially the bedroom), then the switch wasn't bad.

I am still working along the east side of the driveway, trying to lower a bank of dirt and debris that a previous owner made.  I am trying to lower that bank to improve drainage.  I wish I had the mini-excavator here to do the work with, as it could move more dirt than I can using my box blade and FEL bucket.  But if Mr. Greybeard's dad can dig a pond using only a box blade, then I can remove a bank of dirt doing the same thing.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Have you had the generator checked? Maybe it is repairable for a lot less than a new one??



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> But if Mr. Greybeard's dad can dig a pond using only a box blade, then I can remove a bank of dirt doing the same thing.


Or you could BUY a mini-ex


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Have you had the generator checked? Maybe it is repairable for a lot less than a new one??



No, I have not.  According to the previous owner, the controller board in it is bad.  But that is something I should consider.



Bruce said:


> Or you could BUY a mini-ex



I think I could use a mini-excavator a good bit, at least for a month or two.  But considering how much a decent one costs (> $60K, I think), I could rent one for a lot of hours and still be ahead.  I would only need to avoid turning around in a small driveway.    

On Monday and Tuesday, I continued digging out the dirt bank using the box blade.  I discovered that if I backed up using the box blade, I could dig more on each pass than if I went forward.  So I managed to dig an area maybe 30' wide by 50' deep.  Then a slow moving rain system came in on Wednesday and ended up raining on us almost all day.  Once that moved out, then the remnants of hurricane Laura moved in on Thursday, and it rained all day and into the night.  We got 3.9" of rain from the two systems.  So now the area is really wet, and I will need to let it dry out before starting back.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Ridgetop

Even if the propane generator is bad, have the propane tank and lines checked.  Even if you own the tank most companies will do a free check of the tank and lines for safety.  If you already do business with a propane company check with them.   Since you already have the tank and obviously lines to the house, if the tank and lines are sound, you can get a straight propane generator as Farmerjan recommends.  You will be using it for emergencies only, so you won't use it very often anyway.  Get the largest one to run your whole house in an emergency.   Then contact the propane company and ask about the "up front payment" price deal Bruce is talking about to fill the tank.

Using gas and propane fireplaces for heat is not efficient - my daughter had one in their last house and when they used t it didn't do much for the room temp.  Her husband's temperature, however, shot off the charts when he got the gas bill. Several other people have told me the same thing since then about gas fireplaces.  

FYI  When we renovated my aunt;s little huse in Yelm several years ago, I had the propane man come out to check the tank and he recommended we replace the original copper tubing with flexible tubing for safety.  Earthquakes and shifting ground or storms could cause the copper tubing to fracture resulting in a leak.  She only used the propane for her stove, since we installed electric heating for her.  The company said that propane house heating systems were no longer allowed due to safety.  That may be just Washington state.  She had a good wood stove that she had been using for heat until we put in the electric HVAC split system.  We kept that for emergencies.  

Our 5th wheel trailer has a generator that will run everything when it is on.  We generally only use it for making coffee in the am, running the microwave if needed, and cooling the trailer down in summer when traveling.  When stopped for any length of time, we try to get utilities.  Camping isn;t what it used to be.  Thank goodness, since sleeping on the ground is not the adventure it used to be!


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> No, I have not. According to the previous owner, the controller board in it is bad. But that is something I should consider.


If it is only the circuit board and the rest of the generator is good, that should be WAY less expensive than buying a new generator of any type. If you have the generator make and model you can look up the price of a new board online, especially if you can find a part number on the board. 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I would only need to avoid turning around in a small driveway.


But that is one of an excavator's strengths - turning around in place!


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## Baymule

My vote is for the propane generator also. I've used a gas generator in the aftermath of hurricanes, getting gas becomes a problem. No electricity=no gas. By all means, have the generator you have repaired, it will more than likely be much less than a new one. 

We have a diesel tank. We filled it with 300 gallons, it took us 3 years to use it all. We used a diesel treatment and never had a problem. We used on road diesel as the tractor we have will not run well on high sulphur diesel and we sometimes filled the truck with it. Our Kawasaki mule also runs on diesel.  When we ran out, we replaced the filter housing and filter, then it sat empty. Diesel was knocking on the door of almost $4 per gallon. Then--prices dropped like a rock in a pond. We bought 400 gallons for $2.14 per gallon and were thrilled to do so. Having our own tank is such a convenience, it is up on legs and is gravity feed.


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## Bruce

Baymule said:


> We used on road diesel as the tractor we have will not run well on high sulphur diesel


Is high sulfur legal in TX? It isn't here. The only difference between on road and off road diesel is the dye and less tax on off road. 



Baymule said:


> Having our own tank is such a convenience, it is up on legs and is gravity feed.


I bet that is a lot more useful than my 5 gallon containers. I don't use enough fuel in a year to justify a large tank though, maybe 50 gallons a year?


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I looked up the make and model of the (non-functional) generator we have.  It is a Winco, which still makes that model generator.  I removed the side panels on the outside portion of the generator and saw the propane-powered engine, but the electric generator part was in a separate compartment that I didn't see the need to open up.  I traced the propane line that supplies the generator and was dismayed to see it is supplied from the same line that feeds the propane heater in the shop.  The reason for my dismay is that there is a leak somewhere in those lines.  I discovered that shortly after we bought the house and had the propane tank refilled.  The company insisted that it do a pressure check to look for leaks, and discovered that the line feeding the shop was the one leaking.  Since I did not plan to use the propane heater in the shop, then I had them cap off the lines from the tank into the shop.  So now I will need to trace where the leak(s) is(are) if I plan to get the generator to work.

Regarding a diesel fuel tank, I may need to look into getting one of those.  My new tractor uses substantially more diesel than my previous one did, and with my truck being diesel it would be nice to fill up here than having to go to the gas station.  Currently I have 2 5-gallon diesel cans and I would guess I use 10 gallons of diesel a week in the tractor.

It is raining a lot here today.  We received 4.7" of rain from Sunday morning to Monday noon and I bet we get that much today.  Speaking of rain and its effects, you may recall that early this spring I did some work in the overgrown pastures and I left a lot of deep tractor ruts.  Those ruts are still there.  What is the best way to smooth out those ruts?  There is quite a bit of grass there.  I don't mind tearing up the grass if I need to do so, as the grass and ruts are in the overgrown pasture area, but I am not sure the best way to go about smoothing out the ruts.  Any ideas?

Finally, I watched a video from the YouTube channel "How Farms Work" titled "COON Damage | Merging Hay | KUHN MergeMaxx MM 300".  I thought the word "coon" was a play on words for "Kuhn", the hay merger featured in the video.  But as I watched the video, it seemed Ryan was referring to raccoons that destroyed a substantial stand of corn.  I had never heard of such a thing.  Have you folks?  Here is the video.  Pictures and discussion of the coon damage start at 6:27.






Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

Hear in our area that would be bear damage.  They will work in an area like that, and then they will pile the stalks up later in the season.  But here, we have seen bear do this type of damage.  I have never seen coons do that much damage, but then coons are hunted here quite heavily.  I honestly don't think coons do that much damage, but again, we don't have that many in a given area to do that.  Maybe that is more common out there.  I sure as the devil would be finding people to hunt them more.
After watching the merger more, I am really not impressed.  It handles the hay roughly as it goes from the pickup, to the belt that then throws it off again.  If you are doing this with more than one row, other than the idea of getting more air to go through it, I find it to be a waste of time.  Plus, we like out windrows to be neater so that he can straddle them better when running the round baler.  The big wheel rake that I use, will extend out to pick up 3 rows and put them into one, with a neater row especially on the sides.  The "middle row" that you are raking will get picked up by the 2 small wheels with teeth for pickup, mounted in the front of the rake so the hay from the sides does not just get piled on top.... thenmiddle gets picked up off the ground and incorporated into the windrow.  You can see the big wheel rake they are using in the very beginning of the video, and then in one shot on the right hand field while he has the merger on the left with the section of corn inbetween.   The hydraulics will extend it both in width and control the wheels up and down so they can be raking or up for transport.  Mine has 7 wheels on a side which is very wide and better suited to more open straighter fields than some I do with it.  I do a fair amount of backing up into some of the tighter pockets since it is too long to make some of the turns.


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## Baymule

I wanted a fuel tank with 3 vehicles that use diesel. Mostly we buy at the pump for the truck, but sometimes it’s just easier to fill up at home. I bought it off Craig’s list for $400 and the guy even delivered it. Having a tank full of diesel fits into my quasi prepper habits for any SHTF scenario. LOL Not having to haul fuel cans to town and back is well worth the fuel tank at home.


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## farmerjan

Baymule said:


> I wanted a fuel tank with 3 vehicles that use diesel. Mostly we buy at the pump for the truck, but sometimes it’s just easier to fill up at home. I bought it off Craig’s list for $400 and the guy even delivered it. Having a tank full of diesel fits into my quasi prepper habits for any SHTF scenario. LOL Not having to haul fuel cans to town and back is well worth the fuel tank at home.


Amen to that.  I want a fuel tank on the back of one of the trucks so I don't have to haul a couple of cans to a tractor at a pasture or a hayfield all the time.  I use one of those simple hand pumps like you use for kerosene... I call them the squeezy thing, and then don't have to pick up the can and get it all spilled on me trying to pour it into the tractors.  Set the 5 gal can on the step or the hood of the tractor, and start the squeezy thing and it will run all the fuel in unless you break the vacuum.... Still, would be nicer to have a fuel transfer tank on the truck.... But yeah, having the fuel there is alot better, and you can take advantage of when the prices are more reasonable to get it filled, not to mention the security of having it like you said for bad times.


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## promiseacres

We have 3,4 fuel tanks at the farm. I think dh hopes we can use one for farm use. We have enough gasoline engines too.


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## Baymule

@farmerjan L shaped tanks fit in the back of the truck and aren’t too terribly expensive. They sure make things easier.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> So now I will need to trace where the leak(s) is(are) if I plan to get the generator to work.


If you don't plan to use it a lot could it be run off a 20 lb tank? And how far is it from the existing tank to the generator? If not far it might be worth just running a new line and not worrying about finding the leak especially of the line is buried (which I suspect it is). 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I don't mind tearing up the grass if I need to do so, as the grass and ruts are in the overgrown pasture area, but I am not sure the best way to go about smoothing out the ruts. Any ideas?


I think it is pretty hard unless the ground has dried out. If not you'll just make more ruts with the tractor while filling in the old ones. If it is fairly dry you might be able to run the tractor's rear wheels over the "humps" to squish the dirt back out to the sides and into the ruts. I would guess you could level it out with the landscape rake. I imagine the REAL way would be to use a land plane or box blade or maybe a rear blade.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> If you don't plan to use it a lot could it be run off a 20 lb tank? And how far is it from the existing tank to the generator? If not far it might be worth just running a new line and not worrying about finding the leak especially of the line is buried (which I suspect it is).



For the time we have resided here, I can recall only a few minutes while we were without power.  Since we don't reside near the coast, we need not worry about hurricanes.  We don't have wild fires or earthquakes.  We DO have tornadoes, but their path of destruction tends to be quite narrow.  I suppose we could have a derecho akin to what Iowa had, with a large power outage as a result.  So maybe using a small tank would make the most sense.



Bruce said:


> I think it is pretty hard unless the ground has dried out. If not you'll just make more ruts with the tractor while filling in the old ones. If it is fairly dry you might be able to run the tractor's rear wheels over the "humps" to squish the dirt back out to the sides and into the ruts. I would guess you could level it out with the landscape rake. I imagine the REAL way would be to use a land plane or box blade or maybe a rear blade.



Until the last week, the ground had gotten quite dry.  With all of the rain we have received, I will have to wait for several weeks before I work on it again.  Perhaps I should have listed all of my FEL attachments and 3-pt implements I have to use:

FEL: bucket, grapple, pallet forks, stump bucket, bale spear, tree shear
3-pt: mower, box blade with scarifiers, landscape rake, broadcast seeder, wood chipper

I have considered using the box blade and deploying the scarifiers and then drive across the ruts, to try to cut the ridges of the ruts down.  I have considered using the bucket or maybe the grapple and back drag across them.  I have considered renting a disc plow and turning all under and then smooth it all out, although that is probably overkill.  I'll figure something out.



farmerjan said:


> After watching the merger more, I am really not impressed. It handles the hay roughly as it goes from the pickup, to the belt that then throws it off again. If you are doing this with more than one row, other than the idea of getting more air to go through it, I find it to be a waste of time. Plus, we like out windrows to be neater so that he can straddle them better when running the round baler. The big wheel rake that I use, will extend out to pick up 3 rows and put them into one, with a neater row especially on the sides. The "middle row" that you are raking will get picked up by the 2 small wheels with teeth for pickup, mounted in the front of the rake so the hay from the sides does not just get piled on top.... then middle gets picked up off the ground and incorporated into the windrow. You can see the big wheel rake they are using in the very beginning of the video, and then in one shot on the right hand field while he has the merger on the left with the section of corn inbetween. The hydraulics will extend it both in width and control the wheels up and down so they can be raking or up for transport. Mine has 7 wheels on a side which is very wide and better suited to more open straighter fields than some I do with it. I do a fair amount of backing up into some of the tighter pockets since it is too long to make some of the turns.



I remember your explaining about a merger earlier when I first saw Ryan of this channel use one.  I never could see what good it did, either.  I like to watch all the different hay making videos where they use a large mower, sometimes a tedder, a large rake, and baler, and sometimes an accumulator, if they are making small square bales.  (See past my signature for videos of two different types of accumulators in action.)  I don't know what your favorite part of farming/homesteading is, but I think my favorite would be making hay.  I enjoy mowing the grass in my overgrown pasture area, and I think I would enjoy tedding, raking, and baling -- assuming I had all of the necessary equipment.  I hope you enjoy hay making as well.

As I mentioned on Miss @farmerjan's journal, we received 4.8" of rain between ~2:00 AM to 12 noon yesterday.  The water overflowed the creek and washed out some of the slag I laid down a couple of weeks ago.  I am trying to come up with a better solution.  I watched a video on the YouTube channel "Colorado Mountain Living" where they installed something called Geo-Cell on the steep part of their driveway.  Do any of you know anything about this product and how well it works?






Senile Texas Aggie

================== just for fun ====================

Two videos of square balers and accumulators at work:

Raking, baling, and accumulating at the same time:





Baling and accumulating with a different kind of accumulator:


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## farmerjan

Don't know anything about the Geo Cell.... looks pretty interesting. It would sure help hold any gravel when the water is running, it won't be able to run down in little rivulets to cause eroding and becoming bigger "rivers" down the driveway.  Here we can get something called crusher run.... it has the gravel and the "dust" in it.  The dust does pack, it actually becomes more like a solid hard base,  that holds the larger gravels and becomes more like "concrete. "  One thing, they have pretty good side "ditches" so the water does not travel across the driveway.  That is the biggest thing, you have to have ditches.... they don't have to be deep like a drop off, but they need to be deep enough, and if deep then should be fairly wide, so that the water will be able to run down them.  And the road should not be flat.... the center has to have a bit of a crown so that the water will run towards the sides, and towards the ditches, rather than down the "driveway part", which causes the erosion also.  Too flat and if nothing else, water lays and then you get pot holes.  The shoulders/sides of the driveway should be lower than the center "crown" .  
The trick to grading is to pull the sides up into the center, then go down the center and just level off the very center part.  Here they actually will dig a couple inches off the shoulders when they do the gravel/dirt roads.  There will be some dirt clumps in the road because of the angle of the grader blade slicing off some of the shoulder to get the angle right from the center of the road to the side. When grass starts to grow, then they mow, the organic matter builds up along the sides, and before you know it the shoulders are higher than the actual roadway.... then the water runs DOWN the road along the side and not OFF the road into the side ditch. 

The first video of the rake/baler/accumulator was interesting.  The rakes were actually the same basic roller bar or side delivery rakes as we use, but they were run on the PTO because they were still turning when she said she thought she had a broken bale in the earlier part.... ours are ground driven, they turn only when the tractor is in motion.  You can get a left or a right hand side delivery rake and a friend has a frame that goes over top so he can use one on each side to feed the middle much like hers was.  But those were made to do that and not 2 separate ones hooked together in tandem.  

Our hay is seldom ever dry enough to just rake and sq. bale at the same time. We like to rake and get it rolled  up so the bottom gets exposed to the sun and hopefully a breeze.  And we have few fields where there is enough room to run that "long" of a piece of equipment.... with all 3 attached like that.  Their hay was thinner too than most of ours is, although that might have been from tedding it out as well.  It is proven that tedding several times will get it to dry better, more thoroughly.... but you have to weigh the costs of running a piece of equipment over the field that many times too. 
Our one tractor that we bought from the friend who passed away, is equiped to have the propionic acid tank to put on the hay if the moisture is high to preserve it like the 2nd video showed.  You have to be careful of it though.... have had 2 people that have llamas that  say you can't feed them hay with it.  We seldom use it, maybe twice when we first got the tractor.... I am not sure that the system is functional without some serious going over and probably repair.... we just are more likely to n ot cut until we have a good window, and if the forecast changes, we will roll if need be.  We kick ours into wagons so can get them to the barn quicker than picking up the "pods" as they call them, and loading them on a trailer....but then they have to get handled there and stacked in a hay mow.  6 of one half a dozen of another.  Unless someone is coming with a flat bed trailer that you can just load them onto.... right out of the field, then that accumulator is real nice....
There is another accumulator that now puts them into small stacks of 21 or 27 or something and "bales and ties that stack" into what we call a cube in this area. 2 different guys invested in them,  and they do some custom work for others to help pay for them to use for their own hay.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Raking, baling, and accumulating at the same time:


Seems like one would need a pretty big and flat field to use that first "3 machine" setup but it sure would save a lot of time and fuel doing everything in a single pass.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I haven't posted in awhile, so I thought I'd let everyone know what's been happening here.  I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I decided to get rid of a row of dirt, grass, and buried logs that one of the earlier owners left behind.  That row of dirt, etc., was causing water to puddle in a small field.  It is east of the driveway immediately north of the creek, right at the edge of the woods.  Here are pictures of the area I am talking about before I started working on it:

North end of row:  


South end of row:  

I used the regular bucket (6 ft wide), the stump bucket, the grapple, pallet forks, and a box blade to loosen up the dirt and get the logs out that were buried there and managed to get rid of almost all of the dirt on the northern half of the row.  Here is what the north end looked like before I was forced to stop by all the rain we started getting:  .  I have yet to start back on the south end of that row of dirt, etc.  I did try one day for about 30 minutes but started bogging down and decided to let the ground dry out more before resuming.

While I waited for the ground to dry out, I decided to mow in an overgrown area with my new mower.  I had tried mowing over there before using my old mower but I kept breaking shear pins.  This time I didn't break any shear pins, but because the ground is so uneven I managed to contact the ground with the mower solidly enough that the tractor died from the resistance before I could raise the 3-pt hitch.  I started the tractor back up and engaged the PTO again and felt the tractor and mower shuddering.  I looked at the PTO shaft and it was definitely bent.  I quit for the day, as it was getting late.  

Bent PTO shaft (protect cover removed).  Crowbar beside it to provide contrast:  

The next morning I tried to remove the PTO shaft.  I finally got the shear pin out but could not remove the yoke off of the end of the gear box.  It turned out that a snap ring / retaining clip was holding it on.  I could not get the snap ring off using needle nose pliers, screw drivers, and anything else I could think of.  I decided to go buy a set of snap ring pliers and tips.  Sadly, once I got back home, I was unable to maneuver the pliers into position due to the PTO U-joint yoke being in the way, and the plastic protective shroud guarding the slip clutch preventing much movement.  I was tempted to get out my sawzall and cut the protective shroud off so I could better maneuver the pliers, but my Beautiful Gal, who at the time came to check on me, advised against it.  Finally, I decided to take the mower back to the place where I bought it and have them replace the PTO shaft.

Miss @farmerjan, I was thinking of you when I was trying to get this snap ring off.  I was thinking, "STA, Miss Farmerjan would get this off somehow.  She has earned her name of Farmerjan, but me, I just play at being a farmer."  So, Miss Farmerjan, I am sorry that I could not live up to your standard of fixing your own equipment.      Maybe if I live to be 150 I might learn to fix my equipment, but this time, I wimped out.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

You are not a failure at fixing your own equipment.  I am not so great at it some times either.  And the newer the equipment the more complicated the attachments are.... another reason I prefer the older equipment.... I can understand and figure them out easier.  
I hope that you spent a little time at the dealer's and found out how the best way is to get it off.... If not, make sure you get them to SHOW you when you go pick it up?????  Sometimes it is just a different angle, or a simple twist of a wrist to perform the miracle....
Sometimes it is also smarter to wimp out and not get hurt... or to NOT break of bend something else.... and to learn from the experience.


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## Bruce

That was some hard hit to be able to bend the shaft! Sounds like the shear pin is a bit TOO strong. But hey, this time you figured something must be wrong BEFORE more damage could be done


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## farmerjan

I have to agree.  The shear "pin" or bolt is too "hard".  It did not snap as it should have to prevent the damage to the PTO shaft.  Breaking shear pins is a pain.... like on the baler.... but bending a PTO shaft is one he// of a bigger expense.  Sadly you found that out.  Make sure that the shear pins are not "hardened bolts".... they need to break.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Regarding the shear pin, because the mower has a slip clutch, the shear pin is made of harder steel.  I don't understand why the slip clutch didn't slip.  The very first time I used the mower, mowing along side the driveway, I did not have the mower level, as I had failed to check to see if I had set the hydraulic top link correctly.  (I frequently shorten the top link in order to raise the rear end of the mower to make it easier to inspect the blades, etc., and had forgotten to level the mower back.)  When I lowered the mower to mow, with the rear still raised up, I caused the front blades to hit the ground.  They started mowing up dirt!  Fortunately the slip clutch worked and started slipping, causing the clutch to start smoking.  When I heard the blades hitting the ground and felt the tractor starting to shudder, I looked back and saw the smoke.  I raised up the 3-pt hitch before much harm was done to the mower.  Then I noticed I still had the top link too short, so I lengthened it to make the mower level and then was able to mow just fine.

The time when I bent the PTO shaft, this time I had the mower level and the 3-pt position low enough to cut the grass but high enough to avoid scalping the ground, or so I thought.  The area where I was mowing was uneven, and while I thought I was being careful, I did manage to bottom the mower so that the entire mower was scalping the ground.  It happened so fast that the tractor's engine bogged down and then died before I could raise the 3-pt hitch.  When I started the tractor back up, that is when I noticed the PTO shaft looked a little bent.  But the mower seemed to be fine, so I didn't think too much about it.  It was only later that I noticed just how bent the PTO shaft was, and so I decided to try to remove it, being defeated by a snap ring on the end of the gear box shaft.

I don't know why the slip clutch didn't slip before the PTO shaft got bent.  I plan to talk to the dealer when I go get the mower after they have repaired it and find out why the clutch didn't slip.  If they can't provide a good explanation, then I will replace the hardened pin with a more easily sheared pin, as I don't want to bend another PTO shaft or ruin the mower's gear box or the tractor's PTO drive line.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

I don't think it is easy to mow non flat ground. If the front of the tractor goes down over a ridge the mower tends to lift and when the front goes back up the mower drops onto the ridge. I've got some places where the grass/weeds don't get cut well due to rock ridges I have to go over. And when the mower gets to to the rock part I lift it so it doesn't get ripped up on the rock.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Just thought I would let everyone know what we have been up to lately.  For the time being I am caught up on my mowing, and so my Beautiful Gal suggested that I/we finish what we started some time last year but stopped working on for reasons I don't remember now.  The area where we have started working again is shown below, zoomed out on the left and zoomed in on the right.

 

We started on this area when we thought it would be nice to have that part thinned out.  There are a lot of tall pine trees in that part of the woods, along with other trees, such as cedar, oak, etc., and plenty of undergrowth, such as GREEN BRIARS (<= Miss @Baymule, your favorite).  We have been cutting down almost all of the cedar trees, and most of the smaller trees that are not pines, hoping to turn that area into a park-like setting.  My Beautiful Gal worked on the briars while I worked on cutting down and dragging out the trees.  I cut down a dead pine tree that was about 30 feet tall.  It got hung up in the other trees and so did not fall until I hooked a chain around the base and dragged it out using the tractor.  Dummy me didn't get any pictures!   

I have about decided that I need to get some of the equipment that Mike Morgan has for retrieving fallen trees from the woods.  I doubt I will buy a winch -- I can't see spending $5,000 for a PTO powered winch -- but I could certainly use a bunch of ropes, cables, and snatch blocks, both ordinary and self-releasing.  Do any of you have anything you'd recommend?

I will try to take more pictures next time we go out.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Dummy me didn't get any pictures!




I have a mess of things to pull limbed trees out. A real hodgepodge. I have a logging chain, a couple of 40' (?) pulling straps and 50' of low stretch line.

I think I've posted some pictures. I bought a "tree saver" strap but haven't cut any trees since it arrived. I have a couple of LARGE pulleys that I used on my sailboat (therefore they are properly referred to as sheet blocks). I chain those to trees along the route such that the trees can be pulled out. But unlike Mike's EXPENSIVE self releasing block, I have to watch behind to see when the chain on the log reaches the pulley. Then I have to get off the tractor and disconnect the block from the tree then back to the tractor to pull some more. Obviously not nearly as convenient as leaving the tractor in place and pulling the tree to it. 

I was thinking about getting an ATV/UTV winch but some research suggested one would just about die of old age waiting for that type winch to pull in a log from any distance. Apparently their rate of retrieval is REALLY SLOW unlike a logging winch. I pull with the rope attached to the draw bar on the tractor and when the log gets out to the "road" I disconnect the rope, move the tractor back to the log then connect the log to the Quick Hitch in the "down" position. Raising the QH lifts the end of the log off the ground, then chug, chug, chug to the field where I drop them off for later transport up to the blocking/splitting area with the forks. Of course you have a grapple so that part is easier.


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## Baymule

What is all this fancy fangled stuff y'all are talking about? Dragging a tree out of the woods? I have MY ROPE. MY ROPE started out as a 50' nylon rope. The first time we used it, it was to drag out a tree that a storm broke off and it was in a spot that we couldn't get to. No problem. I bought MY ROPE and brought it to the party. My husband was doubtful and thought we'd tear everything up. I tied MY ROPE around the still standing tree, then around the trailer ball on his truck. Haha, the tree came down, MY ROPE stretched out twice the length, so I cut it in half. MY ROPE is stashed behind the backseat on BJ's truck, so I always know where it is. Since moving here, we have used MY ROPE to tie off to trees, then run to another tree, around it, tie onto the other half of MY ROPE, then to the tractor bucket. Then when the tree is cut, BJ backs the tractor, making sure the tree falls in the right place. Need to drag the tree to the fire or where it is to be cut for fire wood? MY ROPE does just fine. That and various chains of different sizes and lengths.   Block? Tackle? Pulley? Winch?


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## frustratedearthmother

Bay uses the KISS method,lol.  (Keep It Simple, SWEETIE)  LOL


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## Bruce

I suppose but there are potential issues with Bay's KISS. 
For one, pulling with the bucket could do expensive damage to the hydraulic pistons. If I were to make only one change to her system this is it.

Nylon rope stretches and if it breaks it snaps back, potential damage to people. 
Can you pull around a tree? Yes but it isn't real good for the tree.
Yes you can drag a tree with a rope but it will try to dig in and that makes the process more difficult, harder on the pulling machine and digs ruts into the ground. I suppose that doesn't matter much if where you want to take it is just outside the "logging road". Dragging it, and the next log, and the next and the next, a couple hundred yards will make quite a rut. They do sell "nose cones" to alleviate that problem if one doesn't have a way to lift the end off the ground. 

AND ... a 50' rope doesn't go very far into the woods


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## Baymule

Bruce said:


> AND ... a 50' rope doesn't go very far into the woods


I have another rope! LOL and lots of chains.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

After posting yesterday, I decided to do some research on self releasing snatch blocks.  Talk about pricey!  $400 and higher for a stupid pulley with a special release?  No way!

I currently have at my disposal 4 20-foot chains (which I normally use for tying down equipment for hauling) and about 40 feet of flat braided nylon strap with hooks at both ends.  I have no special logging chains or hooks.  When I have needed to drag something out of the woods where we work, I have either used the Gator with a hook at the back to connect the chain or strap to, or have used the tractor.  When using the tractor, sometimes I use the front end loader with the strap or chain tied to a cross brace on the FEL, or to the drawbar at the rear of the tractor,  (Mr @Bruce is right about the strain on the FEL curl pistons if I were to attach to a bucket.  Something that made me even more cautious is when I did that when trying to pull my old tractor from out of the pasture using a chain around my grapple, the load caused the grapple to come loose and then caused the hydraulic hoses going to the jaws of the grapple to be ripped apart!)

The above method works fine when I can more or less pull the trees out straight, but when I need to go around a big tree, then I can run into problems.  Having a snatch block to make it easier to maneuver around those trees would be nice.

I have watched YouTube videos about pulling out tree stumps using mechanical advantage, which has me interested in using that method to help me remove some of the tree stumps I have.  See past my signature for one such video.

Thanks, all, for your input.

Senile Texas Aggie

Using mechanical advantage to pull out tree stumps:


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## Baymule

The rope around the tractor bucket is only for a guide to help the tree fall in the right place. But I will certainly consider the hydraulics on the next time! I don't want to cripple Marigold.


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## Bruce

35:1 mechanical advantage pulling the stump. That guy has a lot of money in block and tackle! Maybe he already had it for other reasons in the past.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Just an update on what we have been doing lately.

Some time last week I called the equipment dealership where I bought my mower and had returned it for repair after having bent the PTO shaft.  I wanted to see if they had it repaired and if not if they had heard anything as to when the parts would be coming in.  I was disappointed to learn that the repair was not in their system, so the parts had yet to be ordered!  When I dropped it off at the dealership for repair, I did so at lunchtime.  They sales lady and the parts guy that I remembered when I bought the mower were out to lunch, so someone else was covering for them.  Apparently they failed to pass along the word so that the parts could get ordered.  Fortunately I still have my older mower so I can still mow the grass.

They started cutting, raking, and baling hay here at our farm.  Here is a picture of them baling:

  I like to watch them.  I imagine you, Miss @farmerjan, mowing, raking, and baling hay.  I like to watch it being done, and imagine that I would enjoy doing it -- at least until I had equipment breakdowns!

Here is a picture of one of two dead trees in the little area where we have been working.  (I forgot to get a picture of the tree after I cut it down.)  

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

Yes, that looks like us @Senile_Texas_Aggie .... except we have very few level open looking fields like that..... Might be nice.... but then we would get bored not having to go around ledge sticking up, and big patches of trees in the middle of the field, and up and down hills.....
Is this the second cutting for this field?  How does he do with the quantity/quality???? Ever ask him?   Just curious as to the kinds/types of grass and the yield that you get in that area.... Does he fertilize it?????


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @farmerjan,

Yes, I figured mowing, raking, and baling my pastures might be a bit boring for you since there are few trees (and even for those I mow around), no rock outcroppings, and while the pastures aren't dull squares or rectangles, they are still somewhat easy to mow and maneuver in.

This was the second cutting of hay.  While I don't remember the number of bales they got off the first cutting, they got 74 bales off of about 50 acres.  The guy leasing the fields did not fertilize the fields either last year or this year.  Early this year he asked about using manure for fertilizer.  I told him no, because while I could not smell the manure, my Beautiful Gal has a nose like a bloodhound and she would have been able to smell it.  That is why I put in the lease contract only chemical fertilizers, not manure.  So i guess he decided not to fertilize it, or maybe forgot about it.

Regarding the kinds of grass in the field, I am no expert in knowing the different kinds of grass.  I know that there is Bermuda in places, and Johnson grass in other places.  There is a kind of grass that I called tickleweed when I was a kid, as when my dad and I would go quail hunting we could walk through a field with that kind of grass and some of the stalks would inevitably get inside my pants legs and make it way up my legs, almost like it was a tick or something.  There are other kinds of grasses that grow best in damp areas, crowding out the better grass, and there are other grasses that the county agent said indicated that the soil was poor and needed fertilizing.  I wish I could fence in my pastures and have someone lease the land and put cows and sheep or goats on it, the way that Greg Judy does.  That way the land could get fertilized naturally.  But then, I guess my Beautiful Gal would have to endure the manure smell even more often than if they simply applied chicken manure in the spring!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Apparently they failed to pass along the word so that the parts could get ordered.


 



farmerjan said:


> but then we would get bored not having to go around ledge sticing up, and bit patches of trees in the middle of the field, and up and down hills.


Sounds like here ... except I just flail the growing stuff down, couldn't make any feed hay out of it, more weeds than grass. 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I told him no, because while I could not smell the manure, my Beautiful Gal has a nose like a bloodhound and she would have been able to smell it.


The smell doesn't last long, take her on a short vacation


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## farmerjan

_I am not criticizing but you are doing a disservice to your land by not allowing manure as a fertilizer.  Both for the actual fertilizing benefit, but for the organic matter that i puts back into the ground.  You will be starving the land out in several years.  NO AMOUNT of chemical fertilizer will be able to put into the ground what it needs in the way of organic matter.  I get the sensitive nose... but there has to be consideration for the land.... and the prices of chemical fertilizer is so volatile..... and it does not feed the soil or the crops except for the current year.  

We try to use the poultry litter just before a rain so that much of the smell is mitigated.  

How about allowing them to use composted manure  which will not have the strong smell of fresh manure?  What kind of manure are they wanting to use?   Most of the poultry litter we get now is composted at the poultry farm, in litter sheds that are designed to keep the water/rain off, and that preserves the nutrients. The heating process of the composting will break down the manure and takes care of alot of the smell.... 

They are going to get a smaller and smaller crop of hay if you do not find a way to feed the soil, not just the current crop.  
What about going on a vacation and letting them use it so that by the time you return in a week, the smell will all but be completely dissipated?   Well composted manure with plenty of "carbonaceous material' (sawdust, shavings , straw, some type of bedding) does not smell so bad...

We are averaging 2 rolls per acre on the plain mixed grass hay fields, for 2nd cutting;  and about 1 1/2 times that on the improved orchard grass fields.  Had about 500 sq bales and 7 rolls (avg 22 bales per roll)  so another 125+ sq bales maybe.... off  about 8 acres where the cell tower went in(usually right at 10 acres) with the places we couldn't cut and the ground that had been displaced for the road and all.  Some of that will be reseeded next year after all the topsoil is spread from where they piled if when putting in the road and all....
So say 600 sq bales off 8 acres or the equivalent of  25-28 rolls..... so that is about right....8 acres x  3 rolls =24 rolls. _


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## Baymule

@farmerjan is 100% right. Chemical fertilizers burn the soil, killing the bacteria that make it a living soil. Manures add humus. Humus is the building block to better soil, feeding the soil, which feeds the plants. The grasses you described are not the greatest, even my sheep won't eat tickle grass, it is a poverty grass with little nutrients. At some point, the soil will be utterly exhausted and it won't be worth the expense of baling it. Then there goes your agriculture tax exemption., not to mention the degradation of your top soil. 

We have worked so hard to improve our piss pore beach sand soil, I just about want to cry at your refusal to use manures in favor of chemical fertilizers. yes, poultry litter smells, but like has been said, go on vacation. Surly a week of smell is worth what the manure will to for the overall health of your land. 

Not fussing at you, just asking that you reconsider and pointing out why.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone, for your wise advice.  I will talk to my Beautiful Gal and see what she thinks.  I certainly do not want to deplete my soil, but instead would like to build it up.  If using manure on the fields and then needing to take a vacation is the way to do it, then that makes a lot of sense.  Again, thank you again, Miss @farmerjan and Miss @Baymule, for your advice.


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## Bruce

You watch Stoney Ridge Farmer right? Go back and look at how he is improving his soil naturally. 

I remember reading a few years ago about a couple that took over the family farm in VT. No grasses would grow without scads of chemical fertilizer because his family had killed the soil WITH chemical fertilizer decade after decade. IIRC they ran sheep followed by chickens (and MAYBE then pigs??). Takes time but the animals will put back those bacteria that the chemical fertilizers killed. Also get the soil tested to see if it is too acid or base or seriously lacking in some minerals.


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## Baymule

I raise Cornish Cross meat chickens in the spring, now again this fall. I put them on a movable coop, called a chicken tractor. They poop huge volumes of poop. I use that to improve my soil. 

I raised pigs twice in pasture 2 to get a jump start on fertility. I deep litter in the Sheep barn. Their round bale of hay is in their barn and they waste lots of it. They poop and pee, the waste hay soaks it up and composts in place. This past early summer, BJ tilled it, a neighbor kid and I loaded it in the mule and we spread it on pastures. There was very little smell LOL. 

Since last winter we have been feeding the horses round bale on the pipeline. They also waste hay and poop a lot. We recently covered the pipeline with wood chips for added humus. Come spring, we’ll take the horses off and sow grass seed. The humus from the hay, manure and wood chips is making a phenomenal difference. 

I have tried so hard to get grass, GOOD grass to grow. It would come up, the summer heat scorched the sand, with no humus to hold moisture and protect the roots, the roots fried, grass died. 

I am passionate about being a good steward of the land. I definitely will leave it better than I found it.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Recently I watched many of Greg Judy's YouTube channel videos.  I really liked the idea of rebuilding the soil by using cattle and sheep on the fields.  He rotates frequently (every day or every other day I seem to recall).  It was quite appealing.  But then I got to wondering how I would get water to the cattle and sheep and any other needs the animals might have.  I may need to study his videos more carefully, as the idea of intensive rotational grazing is quite appealing to me.

As for getting the soil analyzed, IIRC, I did that May of last year.  One thing the soil needs is lime, as it is too acidic.  I don't remember what else -- I can't find the report at the moment but I know a copy is right here on my journal -- but I had hoped that the guy to whom I leased the land would do that.  He may do so, but I guess he has less incentive to do that than I do since he would get only some benefit from the cost while I would get more benefit.  Anyway, you folks have given me something to think about.

Yesterday the equipment dealer called and said that the mower was ready.  I am not sure why the parts came in so quickly, but I didn't complain.  When I got to the dealer, they said it was all done under warranty so there was no charge!  Yay!  One of the causes of the PTO shaft getting twisted was that the mechanic who assembled the mower prior to my taking delivery used the incorrect grade of bolt for the shear pin.  Instead of using a grade 5 bolt he used a grade 10! Also, the snap ring that I could not remove in order to get the yoke off the gear box shaft -- the same guy was not supposed to put that on!  Now it doesn't have a snap ring to keep the yoke from coming off should the shear bolt break, which is how my old mower is configured.  So it was no charge for me.  When I got home I tried out the mower and it worked fine.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

Just for your consideration, @Senile_Texas_Aggie ;  we will not lime another persons farm unless we have a minimum of AT LEAST a  5 year lease,  and that is only on 2 places that we SPLIT the cost.....We only lime our own OWNED places.   Lime is not cheap anymore.... and the best effect does not take place until the 2nd or 3rd year.  You will see a little benefit the first year, but it needs to work it's way down into the soil and is much slower released.  That has always been the responsibility of the landowner.  Plus, if it is calling for very much lime... if the soil is very acidic, then you have to apply it in multiple applications, such as some in spring and then again in the fall;  as it just won't be as effective if applied all at once.   And if the soils are acidic in the area in general, then you are looking at lime applications every couple of years.   For someone making just hay, there is no real benefit for them to put that kind of money into it because although it is improving the land overall, the small margin  of profit  on the hay just doesn't justify it except as I said with a long term lease.  Even then, just plain mixed grass hay will not justify that kind of input cost with the cost of making the hay.  
Years ago sq bales were selling for $2 - 2.50..... I am talking 40+ yrs ago.  Now we are lucky to get $5 a bale out of the field, and $6-7 a bale delivered.  So say the value of the hay has tripled in 40 years..... the cost of equipment has probably increased  10 x..... fuel was  $.75/gal and now is $2.25 at least (3x) ,  Help used to be $2-3 an hour... for decent hardworking help..... now you can't find help for $10/hr.... and it is often not worth spit ....so 5x....  No matter how you figure it, we cannot put back into your ground more than we can reasonably get for the product.....

Don't expect the hay guy to lime the fields.....there is not enough money in the hay for him to even break even.  We would not do it for you even "knowing you".  We don't do it for the friend where we have been making hay for 20 years.... we fertilize and use alot of poultry litter.  That used to be CHEAP and easy to get.  Now with all the EPA crap, and the poultry farms that have to build buildings to compost the manure... under roof and protected from the "elements"... that is running $25-35  a ton.  And we require an analysis from the farm so we know what we will have to supplement the litter with, in order to get best results, according to the soil tests. 

I am telling you this so that you can better understand that there is no great margin for improvements when you are on another's land  It is not because we don't care.... it is because we cannot afford to do it.  Simple math.  Cost of  all inputs, verses value of product produced.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @farmerjan,

Thank you for your perceptive comments.  I feared that it would not make financial sense for the guy baling the hay to invest in liming the land, so if it gets done, it is up to me.

Now I am not certain what is best.  I would like to improve the land rather than make it worse, but I don't want to spend mucho dinero to do that.  You see, we have been burning through our retirement nest egg faster than I had originally had planned, enough so that I am started to get a bit concerned.  (And I say this after having spent $45,000 for a new tractor.)  So I don't want to spend a lot of money on the land (or on anything else) if I can avoid it.  So that makes me wonder if it would make sense to try a small scale animal operation of either sheep or goats to graze the grass and deposit their natural fertilizer on it.  Since I have never owned farm animals before, it would definitely be a learning experience.  But I have a whole forum of folks to help and inspire me on what to do or not do.  Anyone up to the challenge of guiding a neophyte animal herder ?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Finnie

I can’t wait to see you have animals on your land!

I see you’ve already found Greg Judy’s videos. @Beekissed swears by them. 

I wonder if you can carefully manage your herd(s) so that they will pay for themselves or even bring in some profit. That would really help stretch your nest egg.


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## Beekissed

About putting lime on the land...be careful of how much lime?  Apparently too  much can cause copper deficiency in livestock, even in sheep, which need minimal copper intake to stay healthy.  Copper deficiency is rarely talked about with sheep, but it happens and it can cause abortion, birth defects, lamb death, etc.


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## Baymule

_ This was the second cutting of hay. While I don't remember the number of bales they got off the first cutting, they got 74 bales off of about 50 acres. The guy leasing the fields did not fertilize the fields either last year or this year. *Early this year he asked about using manure for fertilizer. *I told him no, because while I could not smell the manure, my Beautiful Gal has a nose like a bloodhound and she would have been able to smell it. That is why I put in the lease contract only chemical fertilizers, not manure. So i guess he decided not to fertilize it, or maybe forgot about it. _

The guy leasing your land for hay offered to put manure on the land, which would improve it. For what it's worth, this would be the easiest way to go. You have been adamant about no animals and I really don't think your heart would be in it. It would take a lot of animals, time and expense of buying them, feeding and caring for them, to equal one application of chicken litter--which would take no effort on your part.


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## farmerjan

Okay, I am going to be frank.  And I am  not trying to hurt any feelings.  You are not in a position to have animals.  You are talking some serious fencing for animals to be able to utilize the land. You do  not have any experience and honestly, like @Baymule  said, you have said no animals in the past.  If you were really wanting to have animals, you would be looking for a nearby farm to do an "internship" of some degree.  Offering to help out for the experience.  Learning about fencing, learning about working with animals, feeds and what animals need for good nutrition. 
I am not criticizing.... animals are not a passion with you.  They have to be a passion..... there is too much that can go wrong, difficulty birthing, sickness, getting loose....animals are great if you truly like them and enjoy working with them. 
I really think that if you are considering animals, then you need to find an existing farmer that would be willing to do the work to put up electric fencing to contain whatever animals they have.  You need to have a certain temperament of animal to contain it in electric fencing.... not all will stay in it.
But at this point, I think that you should consider letting the existing farmer fertilize with whatever means he has to do so.  I am not sure of the purpose of having the farm if you are not in it to improve the land or to make it make money and the only way it will do that is to be healthy soil to be able to produce healthy crops for either direct harvesting or harvest by livestock. 

I honestly think that you have gone like so many who buy a nice big parcel of land..... you get the  "new equipment"  I need this and that fever,  and wind up spending much more money than the return will support.  Your tractor was a very expensive purchase for not having more for it to do..... like feeding or other working with livestock; hay making etc....  Most people who do buy new equipment like that still have another job to help pay for it. Or farmers that need to lower the tax burden on their farm and it makes sense to replace it when they can do so at a reasonable interest rate.   And with the way the economy is, loan rates are very cheap... and I would have financed it as it would have been a small monthly payment with your core money still safely invested.   I don't like having the mortgage.... but at less than 3% it is STUPID to pay it off faster right now.  Better to take the extra money I have, once these repairs/renovations get done.... to get other things done and stash some money back for future.  Our economy is going to get worse regardless of who gets in to office.... we are going to have to start thinking about the country's debt level... Interest rates are going to go up.... and I will be alot better off with the LOW LOW interest rate on the mortgage when everything else gets more and more expensive.  If interest rates go way up, interest on savings will increase.... so then I will be better off stashing money in the bank.... If it doesn't become fair game for all sorts of taxes....
But I digress......
You are worrying about your retirement and rightly so as you want it to last for a very long time.  I think that you might want to reasses  the thoughts of animals.  Fencing costs, shelters, things we call infrastructure;   feed, vet work, vaccinations, sickness and death loss.... not knowing what prices to buy at, a possible downturn in market prices, selling at a loss....
There are a thousand different things that you have no experience with that could bury you in a few years.   You have to have either a very experienced mentor, helping along the way,  or such a passion for what you are doing that you have an instinct for things.  NOT EVERYONE HAS THAT.  It either comes from your "genes"  or it comes from doing with someone that can help prevent you from making some major mistakes. 

I AM NOT PICKING ON YOU.   You were fortunate to be able to buy this farm and that you really seem to love the land.  But are you trying to learn how to become more self sufficient in small ways?  Are you growing a garden and canning and freezing and putting up for the future????? Buying a half beef or a lamb or something?   The easiest way to get your feet wet with animals are small livestock..... rabbits that I don't have alot of experience with, but that seem to grow fast and make good food to put in the freezer.  CHICKENS are one of the easiest small farm animals to get started with.  With not breaking the bank to get started.  You can go to TSC and buy a "coop kit" that will house 4-10 hens.  For those that are not very carpentry inclined... like me.   You buy 6 pullets ready to lay, you buy some feed, a feeder, a waterer, and you can get in business for say $500.00 .  You are going to pay that for one feeder calf or 3-4 lambs just to buy them.  That is before any kind of fencing or pens or shelters.....You will be able to go away for a day, or 2 if the chickens have a secure coop to protect from predators, as they will be able to "feed themselves" from automatic feeders and waterers.  You will get the benefit of fresh eggs.  You will be able to have the hens to sell after they hit 2 years, so some salvage value,  if you do  not kill them yourself for "soup chickens" and that sort of stuff.  
Some people are just not designed to raise and then kill their own animals..... there is no shame for that.  I am not designed to be a computer programmer, or a rocket scientist, or any of a million other intellectual jobs that are way over my head.   Everyone has specialties.... and many can learn to do some other things that they can become decent at but maybe not great at.  But if animals are not your passion, then you will not like them, and they will become an expense and you would do good to just break even.   And if there are animals around, there are smells, and flies, even the best managed animals have a smell all their own....flies happen in any operation.... there are flies in our day to day living now...don't have to be a much bigger a problem, but there will be a small increase.  If, something gets sick, you could get covered in manure, animal fluids, blood..... can you handle that?????
If I am not mistaken, you do  not even have a dog or a cat.....The cleanest house pet still has smells, food issues, having to be walked and doing their business or having a litter box..... vet costs/vaccinations/whatever.... sheds or needs baths and grooming.....That is a good way to get accustomed to the responsibility of day to day animal care. 

If this is  not what you really want......then lease it to someone who is able to do what needs doing.... and if the smells bother your wonderful wife, then maybe there is a compromise..... or maybe being on the farm is not where you need to be....
I like to read your journal, and what you have accomplished.  There has to be some way to come to a compromise, but I personally, ONLY FROM READING YOUR JOURNAL,  and comments on other's,  do not think that trying to own animals is in your best interest until you figure out a way to get some experience with them without the initial outlay for purchase.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Instead of using a grade 5 bolt he used a grade 10!


WHAT!!!! I'm glad the dealership fessed up to that and I'm glad you've gotten it back so soon.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> One thing the soil needs is lime, as it is too acidic.


OK, another idea - blueberries, blackberries, raspberries like acid soil. I'm sure there are a lot of others as well. Maybe you'd like to make use of some of the land to grow such crops if you think you would be able to sell the fruit. 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> But I have a whole forum of folks to help and inspire me on what to do or not do.


Oh, we'll enable you just fine 



farmerjan said:


> You can go to TSC and buy a "coop kit" that will house 4-10 hens.


Don't do that! Those prefab coops are (and yes I'm going to say it) crap. Too expensive, too small, made with inferior materials. You'll end up replacing it. You can build an easy basic coop with dimensional lumber and 4x8 plywood (get exterior, skip the "chipboard" which will rot out when it gets wet). Put in a couple of windows for light. If you build it with a dirt floor you won't need to "waterproof" the floor as you would with wood. I have 1/2" hardware cloth (so nothing can dig in) on the floor if my converted horse stall and the horse mats that were already there. 

Chickens are not at all picky about their housing. You could spend $5K on a fancy smancy coop or a few hundred on a simple one. They need VENTILATION, out of the wind while on the roost, dry housing with roosts and nest boxes. And you don't need a lot of nest boxes. I've seen coops where people have 1 box per 1 or 2 birds. You can do this, then you will find that the birds will pick their few favorites and most will go unused. I have a community box 4' long, 3 separated nests on another wall. The left side of the community is favored by many of the girls. And they've made a nest in an old cat litter box in the "feed room". Nests lower than the roosts because chickens will roost as high as they can get. Fence a run (2x4 knotted wire or get a poultry electronet) to keep them safe from predators during the day.

Day old chicks are cheap, even cheaper if you have a hatchery close enough to pick up from (but if you are looking for layers make sure they have a good record on sexing or get sex link or auto sexing breeds). They need food, water, some bedding (I use pine shavings, some use hay or straw) and not much else. I spend maybe 10 minutes in the morning and evening on "chicken chores" (except when I cleaned out the 1.5 years of shavings last week, that was a definite chore). If you are going to have them for egg sales, yes plan to sell them after their second summer as they will GENERALLY slow down after that. You could sell them as "decent layers" as opposed to "make money layers". I have 19 hens, one of the 8 year olds was still laying regularly (3/week) this summer. Of course that is not something one would expect, especially in a money making operation.


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## farmerjan

I am going to disagree with you @Bruce .  Chicks are not cheap when you are paying $3.00 a piece for day old or a few days old.  Then you are paying for starter feed, you are going to have to be careful of possible coccidiosis, and sometimes respiratory problems.... you are going to feed them for an average of 20 weeks before you get the first egg.  There are many pitfalls for someone who doesn't know much of anything about chickens.  
But if you don't have one single problem with them from baby chicks to 20 weeks.... you are still better off as a NEW CHICKEN OWNER... to buy ready to lay pullets at $10.00 each.  If the chick costs $.50 per week to raise, you have $10.00 in them already.....
I know that some of the coops are not the best built.... but they are a faster way to get a start if you are  not a great carpenter.  Some of them are not so bad.  I have bought a few over the years.  Have all still, with a little care and a few replacement pieces they have a longer life than you suggest.  If someone doesn't know if they really want chickens, they are still a quicker way to get started and there is a resale value if you decide to get out of them.  More so than a homemade type coop would be.
If you haven't priced lumber lately, you need to.  This house project has opened my eyes to the recent costs.  Lumber has nearly doubled due to several factors;  and most all is in short supply.  So building a coop will not be such a cheap project. 2x4's are over $6.00 each now.  I used to buy them for less than $2.00.   So if someone is a good carpenter, they might save some money, and build a nice coop.  But it won't be cheap anymore.   Converting a horse stall into a very serviceable chicken pen is a whole lot different than if there is no building to start with.  
I agree that they need ventilation without a draft on them.  They also will pick their favorite nest boxes as you said.  There are ways to take care of them that is less restrictive than some, but for someone that doesn't know anything about them, they need more care than some realize.  
Most all of us have a few favorites, and some that lay decently well past the "norm".... I keep more "seasonal type layers" because of keeping them into older ages;  because of my raising purebreds and wanting to hold on certain genetics rather than just as layers.   But the practicalities of keeping hens that will pay for themselves dictates that they are normally kept for 2 laying years.  

Yes there are fruits that prefer more acidic soil.  They also need care, pruning, and then harvesting and marketing.  It is not a get rich quick deal.  There are viruses that can attack canes of blackberries and raspberries.  And then you have to take some sort of care to protect the fruit from birds so that you can get a harvest.  I don't think that @Senile_Texas_Aggie  is looking for a fruit producing farm of that magnitude.  If the land needs lime, you can compensate with some crops that prefer more acidic crops.... but there are alot of acres there and that is going to be a BIG expenditure to turn that into a fruit producing farm.  With HOURS of work to get it established and then maintained.....and the soil report will still show if there is other stuff that is needed.  
I am trying to give suggestions so that he can find something that will not bankrupt him in the process of keeping the farm so that it is productive for the guy renting it... and to get an introduction to the real life of animals on the farm by maybe having a small chicken coop and seeing if that is something that they could deal with as far as poultry litter possibly being spread on the farm.  I am trying to help with practical suggestions for preservation of the farm that they can work with.  

Okay, that is my piece of mind for the day.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I feel so blessed.  I have read and reread the posts above and am so amazed and humbled at the many words of wisdom.  I especially thank you, Miss @farmerjan, for your insights in your post, and am thankful for you other folks.

We bought this farm because we wanted to reside in the country after having resided in medium sized suburban communities, which in turn were often near large cities like Dallas, our whole married lives.  A combination of my strong introversion and my Asperger's made me long for the time when we could leave such "crowded" and noisy conditions, finally doing so after we retired.  So being out here in the country where it is so quiet and peaceful compared to where we had been residing has drained so much tension out of our lives.  It is so inspiring to get up in the morning, get a cup of coffee, sit on the porch and watch the sun come up.

Once we got here on the farm, however, I figured I needed to get serious about putting this land to use.  My Beautiful Gal and I immediately got to work on cleaning up places where briars had grown over so much, such as around the gate to the farm.  We both loved cleaning up the briars and overgrowth.  It made the place look better, a little bit at a time.  While researching about how to take care of pastures, Miss @Baymule's thread "I Hate Green Briars!" came up in my search results.  It proved to be SO FUNNY that I ended up joining the forum.

My first post was "What Do I Do With 100 Acres of Pasture?"  I received so much positive feedback that I ended up starting my journal.  We started clearing the overgrowth around the pond visible from the house.  It took us almost 2 months, since this was the summer by then and because of the heat we only worked 2-3 hours a day.  (Hey, we are "retarded" -- er, retired -- so we can work whatever hours we want.)  But I found the work so surprisingly gratifying!  Prior to retiring, I had spent my entire career (except for the last 5 years) as a software developer / computer programmer in the defense industry.  In the last 20 years of my career I worked in a top secret facility with no windows, doing fascinating work but not useful in the outside world.  During that time, whenever I thought about what I would do in retirement, I imagined that I would develop some new software package, or maybe a game, for the market or do something just for fun, such as a Sudoku puzzle solver.  (I love Sudoku.)  But once we got to the farm, I forgot all of that.  Suddenly I wanted to work outside, continuing to clear out brush among other things.  I got so much satisfaction out of doing that -- and still do.

But as I read the different journals and postings and got feedback from others, the idea of getting goats for brush clearing seemed to be quite appealing.  But as I learned more goats and other farm animals, the more I realized just what I would be taking on.  So I ended up doing nothing.  You are quite perceptive, Miss Farmerjan -- I have not dreamed of owning farm animals and still don't.  But then prior to retiring I never dreamed of clearing brush and overgrowth, yet I have learned to love it (for the most part).  So once I got farm animals, I might love them as well.  Or I might resent owning them and want to get rid of them after just a few weeks or months.  Starting small would be the best course, and getting chickens is probably the best choice I could make.

I wish there was a really good book or a series of books I could read along the line of "Farming for Dummies".  For example, I would like to learn about different government programs available for farmers, such as the one that @Mike CHS used to get assistance in putting in fence around his pastures.  On my first thread "What Do I Do with 100 Acres of Pasture" the very first response I received was from Miss @frustratedearthmother who suggested growing trees.  That may be the best use I could put the pasture land if I am not going to have animals on the pastures.  Yet I don't know just what the financial benefits of growing trees are, nor do I know where to go find out.  

So do you folks know where I could find such a book or series of books like that, namely "Farming for Dummies"?.

BTW, I found the county extension agent's soil report and he advised that I put down 2 tons of lime per acre.  The Farmer's Coop I called estimated the cost is about $35/ton.  Since I only have 50 or so acres in hay production, that would mean ~$3500 to lime the pastures.  A bit of an "ouch!" but not too bad.

Thanks again to everyone for your feedback and I look forward to more insightful answers.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

I will say right off that I admire the way you went from suburbanite to country living... and it shows even with your "adventures" and mishaps, that you really do seem to like what you are doing.  The land clearing.... and improving it as you have gone.... is a testament to how you have come to really like the farm.  I don't want to see you get yourself in too deep, too fast, with a big investment in animals that you know nothing about and are trying to learn as you are doing.  In this case, jumping off the deep end will get you drowned before you learn to swim.   That is why I suggested chickens without having  thousands of dollars invested in them.  And they are a little more tolerant of "newbie mistakes" as long as they get fed and watered.  If one dies you are not out hundreds of dollars, but only tens of dollars.  Animals die, it happens to every single one of us.
For instance:   you spend 20,000 on fencing, another 2,000 to tie into your well, and put in a watering trough.  Then you buy 10 - 500 lb weaned feeder calves.....They cost 1.40 lb live weight so that is$700 each.... so another 7,000.  A couple feed troughs, 10 bags of feed for the transition, initial costs for salt,  mineral,  and whatever else...so another 1,000,,,, You already have 30,000 put out.  You have absolutely NO PROBLEMS..... and sell them 5 months later so that you are not having to buy any winter feed.... They now weigh 800+ lb (5mos x 30 days =150 days;   hoping for a 2 lb per head/per day weight gain)  and bring around 1.30 lb... so bring so $1050 each....for a gross income of  10,500.  if you figure overall costs for that 5 months of additional salt and mineral , then costs to catch and truck them to a buyer.... total of $100 head for 1,000 you are down to 9,500.   If you sell at a stock yard sale then about $30/head so another $300 so now 9,200....say a loss of 1,000 income from not being able to lease for hay so 8,200 .  divided by 10 head =820. each income .... less the initial 700 each cost so 120.each income for 5 months of work.  Or a 5 month income of 1200....
Yes, you still have that original cost of 30,000 put out to get started....and you got back 10,500 so you are "out"  20,000 for that year... Yes there are tax deductions and all that.  But what I am trying to say is that it is going to take quite a few years at a "profit of 1200/yr. ' JUST TO PAY FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE....  with no income in your pocket for labor to check on them.... And that is if everything goes perfect. Yes the infrastructure will last... but by the time you get it paid off, it will need some "work" as it will get worn down by animals and fence posts braking/rotting....  If you lose an animal, if they don't gain as good, if it is a drought year, if the prices aren't as good as they ought to be...... IF IF IF IF ....
This is what I am trying to protect you from..... until you get a little bit of "livestock"  caretaking under your belt ..... starting with a much smaller investment that won't break the bank if it doesn't work. 
No guarantees just like the stock market..... calculated risk.... and you add to that because you are dealing with a living breathing animal that can get sick, get loose, keel over dead......

I am not trying to discourage you from getting some animals.... but since you have no family farming background, no practical knowledge of animals, it will be harder for you to learn it.  Every single person on here will help anyway they can.... but we are not right there.  There are large animal vets in your state.... but they can get very expensive for a farm call for something that is very "small" but that you might not know how to deal with the first time.  If you make a mistake,with an innate object, like with the tractor, you are out money.... but it is not a live animal that might suffer......more responsibility. 
Just something to think about.


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## rachels.haven

I bet you can figure something out if you want to jump into livestock. But for manuring a field, just manure is great. It stinks for a bit, but it's low maintenance after application.

If you approach it methodically, do your research, prepare well, and keep it small I bet you can do about anything including livestock when or if you decide. The key though is testing the waters and stopping or getting out when you decide enough is enough. Keeping it in perspective helps. Why are you doing what you're doing?

And always make sure you listen to yourself and your wife.

I have half a mind to enable you on the chickens and give you tips there, but I don't think you need them terribly. Good luck.


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## Mike CHS

I got assistance ($) in my holding area roof but the fences were all mine, one T post at a time.    I have always enjoyed your journal and really enjoy the input you have had recently.  You think about things before doing them so I know you will do what is going to work.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @Mike CHS,

Thanks for setting me straight about the assistance you received and didn't receive.  Your having paid for all of those T-posts that you pounded into the ground makes it all the more amazing.  I remember having gotten exhausted just from reading you talking about putting in the fences.  And just when I thought I could go "Phew!", thinking you were finished, you would soon post something like, "Well it was a light day today.  I pounded in 1000 T-posts before breakfast and decided to take it easy afterward."  That may not be an exact quote, but it seemed like that is what I recall reading in your journal!  

It may have been Mr. Greybeard who told me about the assistance available for installing fences.  I remember shortly after his telling me that I watched a YouTube video of someone who talked about a program similar to that.  I don't recall the title of the video nor the channel.  Anyway, I was trying to say that I am sure there are all kinds of things out there to assist farmers, ranchers, and wannabes like me.  I just wish I knew where to look.

Miss @rachels.haven,

I will certainly turn to you (and others as well) should I get chickens or goats, or just to get advice on how best to do something, or maybe some consoling should I do something stupid, which is quite common for me!

Miss @farmerjan,

You are so wise!   I feel so blessed to have you impart your wisdom to me.  Your costs are spot-on.  I know when I first looked at fencing this property, I was shocked at just how much it was going to cost!  I seem to recall that it was going to be ~$50,000!  Ouch!  And that was just perimeter fencing, not to mention cross fencing, building a barn to store some hay and supplies, putting in watering systems, etc.  It made me back off from even thinking about that, at least for awhile.

My current plans are to put some lime on the fields and see if the hay guy will fertilize or we split the cost.  In the meantime, I will be reading more about the different programs available for small farmers.  I will certainly seek you folks' inputs before I do anything big.

Thanks again for all of your advice.  I truly am blessed.

Now to today's activities.

The tractor has 200 hours on it, so it is time for oil, fuel filter, and hydraulic filter change.  It is also the time of the year when I change the oil in the Gator and in the zero-turn radius mower and push mower and sharpen the blade on the mowers prior to putting them away for winter.  On Thursday I stopped and got all of the filters that I would need (or so I thought) as well as all of the fluids (engine oil and hydraulic fluid) that I would need.  I decided that I would do all of the service today (Saturday).

I started on the tractor first, thinking that if I needed some parts it would be best to find out before noon, as the dealer normally closes at noon on Saturday.  After removing the hydraulic filters and draining the engine oil, I discovered that the tractor dealer had given me 2 fuel filters and 1 hydraulic filter, whereas I needed 1 fuel filter and 2 hydraulic filters!  So I went to the dealer to get a second hydraulic filter and discovered that they were closed, I guess for the holiday weekend.   So given the choice between waiting for Tuesday to get the 2nd filter, I decided to reuse one of the old filters and hope it does the job.  But by the time I finished with the tractor, I was tired and decided to postpone the mowers and Gator until tomorrow.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## farmerjan

@Senile_Texas_Aggie ;  I am glad that others are chiming in to help you.  Like @Mike CHS  and @rachels.haven  have said, your posts show that you do try to research everything before you take too big a leap.  It's not that I  think you can't do livestock, but that you will get too far in debt for something that you decide you really don't like.   That is why I suggested you start small with some chickens and see if you even like daily livestock chores.  Some just don't.   Nothing bad about admitting that taking care of animals just isn't your thing.  

I think that having the fields limed, and doing half this fall/winter and the other half next year is going to be more beneficial to both the land and your pocketbook.   When the time comes to renegotiate the lease for the hay, stipulate that he has to fertilize and you will do the lime as soil tests indicate.  He is getting all the hay so it is in his best interest to fertilize it well if the ph is where the hay will benefit from the fertilizer. And try to figure out a way for him to be able to use manure of some sort if that is available to him.....you and your wife take a couple days off to go visiting someone when he is going to apply it.  That would most likely be early in the spring before there is much growth, or right after the first cutting to give a boost to the 2nd cutting. 

There are all sorts of cost share programs especially if you are going to fence livestock out of creeks/ponds etc.  Go to the Extension service.... a good agent will tell you what is available.  There was money for both fencing and drilling wells back about 6-8 years ago as the place we rent the owner did it a couple years before he passed away .  The soil conservation group might also be one to try.... I will try to remember to ask him who exactly to contact.... but our county extension agent keeps my son up on all that stuff. I would be like you and trying to figure out who to go to if left to my own devices. 

    Wouldn't you know that the tractor place would not get the right count of the specific filters.... happens here too.  DS gets pretty bent out of shape and then has to send me to get the right ones.....  OH the JOYS of being a farmer!!!!


----------



## Bruce

farmerjan said:


> to buy ready to lay pullets at $10.00 each


Things are cheap in VA! They go for twice that here. 50 pounds of feed is $10. You can raise a lot of chicks on 50 pounds  I did the whole starter-grower-layer feed thing with my initial 12 but every chick after that bailed on the starter as soon as they could get into the "big girls'" feeder full of layer so I don't bother with grower anymore. I've not had any problems with the pullets eating layer well before they were at POL. 

I agree that chickens are the easiest farm animal around, other than maybe alpacas WHEN they keep using their outdoor poop pile. Annoying when they decide to poop and pee inside. Both types of critters take me about the same amount of "effort" daily. Throw some feed at them twice a day and make sure they have water. Not like horses, sheep, goats kept inside at night where you need to clean their sleeping areas with frequency. IF I have laying pullets in the winter I have to go out a few times a day to collect or the eggs freeze. The boys need their feet trimmed a few times a year and then there is that shearing thing of course. I've not had to deworm anything, alpacas can't have copper so no scheduled boluses or other "medications". 

Maybe I've just been lucky, sure didn't grow up raising farm animals.


----------



## farmerjan

I think the pullets I saw a couple weeks ago at the poultry swap were $12.00 this year.  Used to buy them for $7.50.   In fact, when I first started with the sex-link layers down here, I was buying 50-100 started pullets for $5.00 each....


----------



## Mini Horses

Here they go in the $7-12 range at auctions and swaps, age matters.   On line some want a bit more...usually $15-25.   If specialty & purebreds, yes, $20+.  I wouldn't go with any chicks for a first go with chickens, too many "watch fors" in their care.    Get some at least a couple months old....POL is better.   Plus use a reputable seller.   If they see a greenhorn, you may get a 2 yr old tossed at you saying it's a young one.  Yep, people do that!  Many were once used care salesmen.  

I'm with @farmerjan, serious animal raising has to be learned and loved.    Animals can sense your feelings.  You need to sense theirs.  It can be magic or a travesty.    And, it's almost always dirty.....not for clean-freaks or germaphobes.      Costs?  Yep, be ready.  Not like a pet rock.   Remember those??


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Thought I'd bring you up-to-date on what's happened here in the past week or so.  On Thursday my Beautiful Gal's next older sister Treasa and her husband James came for a visit.  Wednesday was James' 70th birthday, so we went to celebrate at El Penjamo, the local Mexican food place.  On Friday we all went to Mt Magazine State Park lodge, as they were wanted to see the fall colors.  Unfortunately the leaves had not really started turning colors; will probably do so in a couple more weeks.  We had lunch at the restaurant there.  The air was clear and fresh feeling.  We could see our house from the lodge using binoculars.  On Saturday, James and I worked on an A-frame for a lawn swing that my Beautiful Gal has wanted for some time.  Here is a picture of the result, positioned on the lawn awaiting a swing:




On Monday after they left, I started work on a work table that my Beautiful Gal also has wanted but for whatever reason I didn't know she wanted.  I finished it up yesterday and today after getting back from a dermatology appointment I moved the table with the tractor and put it on the porch.  

Table frame:    

Complete table on the porch:  

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

I'm a bit disappointed, not one word about everything that went wrong?? Could it be there were no disasters?


----------



## farmerjan

Well, @Bruce , I am "tickled pink" that there were no reportable disasters!!!!!  Hope you had a great visit with the family.


----------



## thistlebloom

You sure have a pretty view. That will be a nice place to sit and swing after a long workday. Nice table too, looks handy.


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## Baymule

I didn't know that you had such skills! You do a lot better job with wood than you do with PVC pipe.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> I'm a bit disappointed, not one word about everything that went wrong?? Could it be there were no disasters?



Can you believe it?  I did not break any tools, no broken drill bits or blades, no cut off fingers or toes, only a few saw dust flakes in the eyes (I don't have any safety glasses).  It's almost like an STA imposter was building the table.



farmerjan said:


> Well, @Bruce , I am "tickled pink" that there were no reportable disasters!!!!! Hope you had a great visit with the family.



Yes, it was good to see them.



thistlebloom said:


> You sure have a pretty view. That will be a nice place to sit and swing after a long workday. Nice table too, looks handy.



We love sitting on the porch in the morning, which faces east toward Mt. Magazine to the left, the Flood mountain range to the right, and the Petit Jean river valley in between.  It certainly is peaceful.  So far, my wife is happy with the table.



Baymule said:


> I didn't know that you had such skills! You do a lot better job with wood than you do with PVC pipe.



Boy, ain't THAT the truth!

Today I burned 4 brush piles, but other than that nothing exciting happened.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

I made up for your lack of "oops, DAMN!!!! today STA 

While waiting for the paint on the EV station post and board to dry I went out in front of the solar array to see if there was clearly ledge there since we are planning another array. Can't fuel the Leaf with the overage we have from the current array. Not sure there is ledge which would be good, save some installation money.

Then I went to the gate in the west fence line so make sure the pin was still far enough into the double latch. That post has a floating brace and tends to pull north. Looked like it was JUST the width of the latch so I decided to crank on the brace wire to pull the brace in thus push the top of the post back some. 

Crank, click, crank, click, crank POP! The brace wire snapped about an inch from the ratchet thing 

So I had to fix that. And I noticed that the lower bolt hook on the other post was bending down from the weight of the gate and the top hook wasn't in the top bracket very far. This is happening because the opening is too wide so there is a fair bit of threaded rod sticking out of the post. So I took the gate off, banged the bolt hook back up and rehung the gate.  Guess I really need to lag a 4x4 onto the post and drill through that so there is less "excess" threaded rod sticking out.

Then after lunch it was back to the regularly scheduled programming, finishing up the EV station install - electrically speaking. The Leaf is plugged into it tonight instead of the one down inside the barn. That one is not real accessible in the winter. I COULD have moved it up near the walk by the house but since the electric company gave us another one with the Leaf, might as well install it. I still have to finish the "shack" to keep it out of the weather. It IS weather proof but I'd rather it not be getting all iced and snowed in the winter and I suspect all that plastic isn't "sun proof" forever either. I've been taking pictures and at some point will post the project in my journal.


----------



## Finnie

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> s (I don't have any safety glasses)


THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THAT!


			Amazon.com
		


Please, get yourself some and use them. Your vision and your health are too important to neglect.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> I've been taking pictures and at some point will post the project in my journal.



I'll be checking often on your journal for them!



Finnie said:


> Please, get yourself some and use them. Your vision and your health are too important to neglect.



I agree.  I will try to remember to buy some when I go to the hardware store next time.  I am a bit reluctant to buy them online for fear they will not fit.  (I wear eye glasses as well.)

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

Get a face shield and wear a dust mask. Breathing sawdust ain't so good neither.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Baymule said:


> Get a face shield and wear a dust mask. Breathing sawdust ain't so good neither.



You are definitely right about the dust mask!  When I cleaned up after building the table, I used a blower to blow the sawdust and regular dirt out of the shop.  Talking about a cloud of dust!  I was coughing quite a bit while doing that cleanup.  I don't know why I didn't put on a mask, as I had plenty in my truck!

I finally ordered the Geocell product that I first learned about from the YouTube channel "Colorado Mountain Living" back in late August.  The Geocell is supposed to hold the gravel and slag in place, preventing it from being washed away by water running across the driveway.  I decided to order it since I also had to order a starter for our Gator 825i.  The starter started being a little wonky last month but got to where it was quite a bit wonky this past week.  By wonky I mean that the starter would spin but would not engage the flywheel to start the engine.  Both of the items are supposed to arrive next week.

Logan county, Arkansas is currently in the red zone for Covid-19, so we are still hunkering down.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Logan county, Arkansas is currently in the red zone for Covid-19, so we are still hunkering down.


Stay safe!


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## Mike CHS

Another Stay safe!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

As will be evident, I have not been working outdoors much and so I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos.  I watched two that I'd like feedback on from you folks.

I watched a YouTube video yesterday that talked about hydraulic lines and threaded connectors and which threaded connectors needed to have Teflon tape applied and which do not.  I had always thought that they all needed Teflon tape, but it turns out that is not the case.  Here is the YouTube video that discussed the different types of threaded connectors and which ones need Teflon tape and which do not:





The second YouTube video I watched concerned the state of small farmers in the USA and how they got to be in the condition they are.  The video is a bit long (over 23 minutes) but I think worth watching.  So I am asking everyone, but especially Miss @farmerjan, Miss @Ridgetop, Mr @Mike CHS and others who have been involved in agriculture for a good while, to offer your opinion on the situation and what should be done about it, if anything.  (Miss Anna/@Fuchsia, this guy is in your part of the country, namely upstate New York,)  Here is the video:





Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

On the teflon tape and connector types ... yep  Though I didn't know there was a difference between the colors of teflon tape. I have both pink and white, I didn't get the pink on purpose, figured it was all the same just grab a roll. I guess the hydraulic fluid might do something bad to the pink and blue (which I've never seen)??

He, like me, is no Mike Morgan spreading that gravel  

On the farm thing. Yeah sounds about right on the whole. But he is ignoring the consumers' part in the equation. IF all the consumers had stuck with the Mom and Pop stores, there wouldn't be any chain stores. But people understandably follow their wallets and convenience. The chain establishments have economy of scale that help keep prices lower. Poor as some chain restaurants are, at least you know what you are getting so when travelling do you search out a "Mom and Pop" of unknown quality or stop at the "just off the interstate" chain? And of course now even chain stores are hurting because you can buy so many things cheaper on Amazon and have it delivered to your door. 

There is a reason we have a massive trade deficit with China ... because people bought the cheap stuff from China even though it was inferior quality. Inferior but "good enough". Then the USA manufacturers moved production to China and other "low cost countries" so they could better compete with the cheap stuff from China. Then there were no more USA manufacturers of many product types so like it or not, we have to buy from China.

I, for one, would HAPPILY pay twice as much for a quality USA made product that would last much longer than a cheap one from China, but in many cases such a product doesn't exist anymore. And we became a "throw away" society. Microwave only lasts a year or two? Who cares, throw it out and buy a new one for under $100.


----------



## farmerjan

@Senile_Texas_Aggie ;  watched the video and for the most part he is pretty much right.  It was Earl Butz that helped to transform the farming in this country with the "Get bigger or Get out".  He was an A$$,  and his policies that were so widely adopted,  did cause the huge expansion of the farm size and subsequently the demise of many small farms.  The whole compete on the global economy was the reason.  It has caused a trickle down that will never be replaced because of the "economy of scale". 
The other thing is the increased gov't control and the policies of competing in the world markets.  Parity became a bad word, and the changing of those policies goes back to the 30's.  That is when it was decided that the GOV'T should be more in control of the surpluses, and the idea of the gov't buying up surpluses as a hedge against hard times.... as well as the thoughts that innovations in farming somehow made things more unequal.... there were alot of things including how the banks would lend money.... but it is  the changing of the policies of parity, and then the gov't getting more in control, that actually was the start of the decline of small farms.  The Cornucopia Institute has a good article on Parity and what it has meant to farming.....
The other thing that the guy talked about in his video is very true.... people DO NOT VALUE good food.  And it shows in the overall health of people in this country.  Cheap food is just that...... CHEAP..... not just in money costs, but in the quality of the food.  That also comes from the chemical companies..... the EXCESSIVE dependence on herbicides and insecticides to solve any and all problems..... NOT all chemicals are bad..... and they have really helped with salvaging crops when there has been a possible disaster looming.  But they were not meant to be administered the way they are now.  It is like taking antibiotics as a preventative with no threat looming ..... it is proven that they are widely overused.  So are many of the chemicals used....Good farming practices can deal with many of the problems but it takes time.  This country is one of "I WANT IT NOW"  mentality.  And he is right, good food is not valued, we do not "clean our plates" because.... oh there is more where that came from......  On top of that, there have been many studies that the actual food value of the food today is less.... the vitamins and minerals in the food are diminished due to reliance on chemicals for cheap fertilizer, rather than to improve the OVERALL HEALTH OF THE SOIL , so that the crop that grows has better food value.  The is A LOT OF TRUTH   to the old statement.... YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.....  if the soil is not as healthy as it should be, then the crop - food - that is harvested will not be as healthy as it can be.  
That is where the small individual farmer, has a leg up.... because he is often more able to make the soil more healthy, more complete, so that the crop coming off of it is healthier too.  AND, as much as it was poo-pooed for so long... a diverse and multi cultured farm, with both crops and animals, is healthier for the soil.  

One other thing though , there are more and more people in the world.  We have saved millions of lives with eradication of diseases that would often take many children. Families used to be big, partly from lack of birth control methods available.... but often many of those children did not live to adulthood.  Sad to say, it was a natural form of birth control..... And children, and adults did not survive horrible accidents like they do today.... premature babies did not live.... medical advancements have made strides that were unimaginable 150 years ago.....  BUT ..... this has increased the populations.... and the bigger farming methods also are more needed to support those larger populations.  
I don't know the answer.  PARITY needs to come back so that the cost of farming is reflected in the actual price paid.  Then the smaller farmer would be able to compete more....and make a living.....like the ones that do farm and get premium prices for a product that is better for you healthwise.  As long as there are those that only see the $$$$ prices on things, and not the actual value, there will be a need for the mega farms to produce a cheap product.  But then we pay for it in subsidized things like health care....
Where is it right or wrong..... do I want to say that this one should not live because they have a health issue....???? But when you get right down to it, nature is a very hard taskmaster.  It is survival of the fittest.....


----------



## farmerjan

One other thing, on the cheaper products.... besides what @Bruce  has said..... increased number of people in the world means we need increases in jobs.....so the "cheap use it up and buy another" is providing jobs for more and more people....
so where do you start drawing the line.... and what do we do with all the throw out stuff now, as it piles up and polutes our environment.  
I had to replace 2 valves for the washing machine here, because they no longer make the small washers that go in the old one so that I could just fix it... So spent about $20 bucks for something that should have only cost a couple dollars to fix... No one wants to fix stuff nowadays....and companies cannot keep parts in for something that will only go bad once in 20-30 years.....
But the costs down the road to the destruction of the environment.... with just the waste of thrown out stuff.... will boggle your mind.

And we evolve.... just as we went from planting sticks, to horse power to internal combustion machines.... it is not all bad... but this is a finite world.... and we are going to have to limit our population or we will destroy it ....... one way or another.


----------



## farmerjan

@Bruce  you bring up a good point about things like the chain restaurants.  We make a practice of trying to stop at non-chain places to eat.... but then it means extra time for travel to and from places that most people do not have as this is such a hurry up and get there type of culture....


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone, for your inputs.  I have never heard of parity regarding farm products.  I need to do more research on that...


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## Bruce

farmerjan said:


> and what do we do with all the throw out stuff now, as it piles up and polutes our environment.


Yep, that is a big problem. There is exactly ONE landfill remaining in Vermont.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I just watched an interesting YouTube video on Regenerative Farming titled "Can Regenerative Agriculture Reverse Climate Change?".  Do any of you have any knowledge about this one way or the other?  It sounds like a wonderful way for our agriculture sector to grow our food.

Also, after I read up on the farm commodity price parity that Miss Farmerjan mentioned earlier on a post here recently, I was wondering how it differed from what we have currently which seems to favor big farms and disfavor small farms.  Miss Farmerjan, if you are reading this, I don't expect to answer, as you are currently up to your ears in chickens, hay, planting wheat, and getting PT.  But to anyone else reading this, where can I learn more about the differences between the former policy of price parity, which benefited every farmer, and the current policies, which benefit the big farmers over the small ones?

Also, Fed-Ex just delivered the starter for the Gator and the Geo-Cell driveway stabilizer, so I hope to get the starter replaced and the Geo-Cell installed tomorrow or maybe later.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Replacing the John Deere Gator 825i UTV starter

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I received a new starter for the Gator.  Friday afternoon I decided to start the replacement process for the starter.  So out to the shop I went to get started.  Gathering up all of the tools I figured I would need, I then got started.

*Step 1*: disconnect the ground cable on the battery: 


*Step 2*: empty out the cargo bed: 

*Step 3*: look for the starter. Top of engine: 
Top of transaxle: 
There it is!: 

*Step 4*: Watch YouTube videos to see how to get the starter out.  The last picture makes it appear that removing the starter will be really easy, but it is not.  The opening is much narrower than it appears.  I wanted to see if I would need to remove the skid plates from the bottom of the engine, or take out the starter through the side, where I could see it.  I am glad I watched the videos, as I learned that I would need to remove the starter from the side, and that to access the bolts that hold the starter to the engine, I would need to remove the shroud that goes around the belt drive.  Given how much work I would need to do, I decided to quit for the day and start again tomorrow.  So Friday afternoon was the first day.

Saturday

Saturday morning is when I started removing everything.
*Step 5*: remove the shroud around the belt that goes from the engine to the transaxle: 

*Step 6*: remove the water manifold from around the air intake manifold. Please note the red arrow, denoting an air outlet port that will become important later: 

By this point it's time for lunch and my back is really hurting from bending over so much, so I break for lunch.

*Step 7*: Remove the starter.  This step alone took me about 2 hours, primarily from trying to maneuver the starter out of the hole where it normally stays, around the air intake manifold, and out:  

The old and new starters:  

By the time I got the old starter out, my back was REALLY hurting, so I quit for the day.  So the morning and the afternoon were the second day.

Sunday

After a good night's rest, I tackled the reassembly.

*Step 8*: Install the new starter. I probably worked around 30 minutes trying to maneuver the starter past the intake manifold without success, to the point where my fingers became fatigued where I lost my grip on the starter and dropped it. When I did so, the starter fell through the opening and into where I was trying put it! How did that happen? Oh, well, I didn't complain. I then got the starter bolted back onto the engine.

*Step 9*: Install the belt shroud.  I reinstalled the shroud for the belt.

*Step 10*:  Install the water manifold around the air intake manifold, along with all of the hoses.

*Step 11*: check coolant level. Looks OK.

*Step 12*: Reconnect the ground cable and trying the new starter.  Success -- it started right up!  I went to the house to see if my Beautiful Gal wanted to go for a ride.  She did, but needed to change clothes.  While I was waiting on her, the Gator overheated!  I turned off the engine and let it cool before opening the radiator cap.  Coolant sprays out.  I refill and start engine again.  It starts to overheat again.  Then I remember in one of the YouTube videos that the presenter said that it was important to ensure that the water manifold had water in it where it come out the air relief port.  So I removed the cap in that port and filled the radiator to the point where water came out that port, then reinserted the cap, filled the radiator, and started the engine again.  The engine ran just fine!  Finally, success!  And the morning and the afternoon was the third day.

So the Senile Texas Aggie rested in the night after the third day, and he blessed the work that he had done.

More seriously, I am glad to get the Gator repaired.  I felt and still feel somewhat ashamed that it took me 2 1/2 days to do what Miss @farmerjan, Mr. @Bruce, Miss @Baymule, Mr. @Bruce, or Miss @rachels.haven would have accomplished in less than half a day.  But at least I got it done and we no longer need worry that the Gator will leave us stranded somewhere because it won't start.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## rachels.haven

Lol, I only do minor car and lawnmower stuff. You've got me beat.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

After repairing the Gator a couple of days earlier, yesterday I decided to install the GeoCell on the driveway that I had ordered the same time I ordered the starter for the Gator.  I had decided to install the GeoCell after what happened earlier this spring.  I had laid down some slag on the driveway and a couple of weeks later a big rain caused the creek to overflow and wash away most of the slag out into the pasture.  Then after seeing the YouTube video described below, I decided to order the GeoCell and install it.  I mistakenly thought that the GeoCell came with spikes to secure it in place, but apparently I needed to order the spikes separately.  I decided to use landscape pins instead.  Unfortunately, they were not stiff enough to go into the ground deep enough with the gravel and slag already there.  So I decided to put down big rocks simply to hold the GeoCell in place while I filled the cells with the slag.  Here are two pictures of the first GeoCell grid before I put the slag into it.

Looking up the driveway toward the culvert: 

Looking across the driveway:  

After filling in the one GeoCell grid, we decided we needed to put down a couple more of them, as there were still unprotected parts of the driveway on either side.  (The two pictures above is only 1 GeoCell grid and I had ordered a total of 5.)  So I did that and then filled in the GeoCell with the remainder of the slag and then with a bit of crushed concrete.  Here are the results:    We will need to wait for a good rain before we can tell how well the GeoCell has worked.  But the results did not turn out as well as Colorado Mountain Living's results did!

Finally, the sunrise this morning over the Flood mountain range:  

Senile Texas Aggie

Here is where I first learned of the GeoCell, namely from the YouTube channel Colorado Mountain Living:


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> When I did so, the starter fell through the opening and into where I was trying put it!


Score one for STA's luck turning to the positive!!!!



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I felt and still feel somewhat ashamed that it took me 2 1/2 days to do what Miss @farmerjan, Mr. @Bruce, Miss @Baymule, or Miss @rachels.haven would have accomplished in less than half a day.


Not hardly!!! I suspect I'd be happy if it ONLY took me 2.5 days!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I need some ideas on how to stop some erosion and stabilize a bank next to the driveway.  The bank that goes over the culvert upon which the driveway is built drops off quite steeply down to the creek on either side of the driveway.  Here are some pictures to give you an idea.  The first picture gives you an idea of from where the remaining pictures were taken.

Driveway, culvert, and creek:  

Point A, looking to the southeast down from atop the driveway down the bank into the creek:  

Point B, looking from the creek bottom back up to point A:  

Point C, looking north from the driveway down into the creek:  

Point D, beside the creek looking back up to point C: 

Now that you have an idea of what I am facing, I would like to get some ideas.  Should I even do anything at all?  After all, I don't *know* that the bank has eroded any more for the time we have been here.  I just don't like that it is a bit narrow at the top.  If something should be done, I can think of several possibilities:
(A) Use the Miss @Baymule approach of concrete bags piled on top of one another.  To ensure that they remain stable, I could drive rebar into multiple bags.  I have plenty of dirt to use as backfill.
(B) Use concrete blocks and build a wall.  Use dirt as backfill.
(C) Use riprap on the bank and netting to hold the riprap in place.
(D) Use concrete forms and pour concrete walls on the sides.  Use dirt as backfill.
(E) Other?

Thanks for whatever suggestions you folks can provide.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

That looks pretty tall. That would be a LOT of concrete bags. I've seen it done, that's where I got the idea from, but that would take a lot. I like the rip rap held in place by wire, maybe cow panels if the chunks are big enough that they wouldn't fall through. Sheep and goat panels have 4" holes, horse panels have 2"x4" holes, or buy a 100' roll of wire with the size holes that suit your purpose.


----------



## Mike CHS

We have a drainage ditch right by our Mail box that was washing away but I just mixed concrete and poured it on the worst areas.  It stopped the erosion and is now building up.  I added a lot of decent sized stone with the cement and it has held for over two years.  The biggest difference is my area was around 24" and yours looks to be 5' or more.


----------



## Larsen Poultry Ranch

Maybe combine both ideas? Drive in some rebar stakes to help hold some cow panels and fill/weigh down with rocks/stones/cement bags and add cement in strategic areas to combine the whole thing together? The dirt should then accumulate on/around the new structure? 

Take my idea with a large grain of salt, I've never dealt with that in real life. 

Or find a plant that can grow in that location and the roots will hold the soil and stabilize the hill?


----------



## Bruce

Outta my league but that never stopped me from chiming in before 

By narrow at the top, you mean at road level over the pipe? Since there are areas where there doesn't seem to be grass growing I would have to guess there has been some erosion. Some at point B and more at point D.

What to do? I don't know but it does seem like you could "stair step" some concrete bags at point D starting at the  bottom near the open end of the pipe and working back toward the road. Maybe overlap the bags by half? If you could build that up to the top of the pipe maybe any dirt you put on top sloping back to the road would be less steep and less likely to erode? And maybe embed some of that honeycomb road stuff in the mix on top?

Bear in mind I have NO experience and NO IDEA what I'm talking about!

If you want to put in some excess rock on the property, I have a LOT I'll be happy to give you  
If you have access to rock the rock and wire method might be the cheapest and should work well. You have that nice big strong tractor that could move large rocks to the area.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Outta my league but that never stopped me from chiming in before



I always appreciate your comments for their wit and wisdom.



Bruce said:


> By narrow at the top, you mean at road level over the pipe?



Yes.



Bruce said:


> What to do? I don't know but it does seem like you could "stair step" some concrete bags at point D starting at the bottom near the open end of the pipe and working back toward the road. Maybe overlap the bags by half? If you could build that up to the top of the pipe maybe any dirt you put on top sloping back to the road would be less steep and less likely to erode? And maybe embed some of that honeycomb road stuff in the mix on top?



I am considering that.  I could layer a set of concrete bags, back fill with some dirt, add another layer, back fill with more dirt, etc., using rebar as an anchoring aid.



Bruce said:


> If you have access to rock the rock and wire method might be the cheapest and should work well. You have that nice big strong tractor that could move large rocks to the area.



We have a good bit of rock here (shale), but on our homestead the rock tends to be about 1-3 feet down.  We don't have the much sturdier granite or other harder rock.  I don't know how easily rock can be obtained around here, nor what its cost is.  I will need to do more checking.

Thanks again, Mr. Bruce and everyone else, for your suggestions.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> We have a good bit of rock here (shale), but on our homestead the rock tends to be about 1-3 feet down. We don't have the much sturdier granite or other harder rock. I don't know how easily rock can be obtained around here, nor what its cost is. I will need to do more checking.


Go rent a big excavator like Mike Morgan did and dig out your shale 
I would think shale by itself might not be great since it too will want to slide downhill. Bring your truck by and I'll fill it with big rocks to put in before you drop the shale in to fill the gaps


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

farmerjan said:


> But I cannot believe that allowing for the government to have such total say so in every aspect of our life is something that you can attribute to the right or conservative side.



Actually, most conservatives I know believe in small government only in some things, primarily economic ones, and a few social ones like gun ownership rights, but on other topics they believe in a BIG government telling people exactly how to live their lives and what they can and cannot do.  To provide some examples of the latter:

Interracial marriage.  Was it liberals or conservatives who opposed allowing interracial marriages?  It was conservatives.  If they consistently believed in small government, they would have supported the right of an interracial couple to marry, but they strongly opposed it, and many still do.
Gay marriage follows the same reasoning that interracial marriage did.  And the broader issue of gay rights also fits this reasoning.
Transsexual rights.  Is it liberals or conservatives who oppose transsexual rights?  If conservatives were consistent in their belief in small government, then they should support those rights.  But they do not.
Doctor-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.  If conservatives believed in small government, then they should support the rights of terminally ill patients to choose to end their lives rather than having to endure the pain and suffering through the ravages of an illness.  That has got to be one of the most personal and difficult of decisions a person can make as to when to end his/her life.  Yet conservatives opposed allowing doctor-assisted suicide.  Is that a belief in small government?
Recreational drug use.  Has it been liberals or conservatives who have supported legalizing the use of recreational drugs like marijuana?  It has mostly been liberals who have supported it and mostly conservatives who have opposed it.  If conservatives really and consistently believed in small government, they would support such legalization.  After all, what is more personal than what one takes into one's own body, yet conservatives often oppose that right.  If three deer hunters sit around a camp fire smoking cigarettes and passing around a bottle of Jack Daniels, many conservatives might not approve of them smoking or drinking but would not believe that the government should tell them that they can't do that.  But if three college kids decide to go on a hiking trip and then while sitting around the campfire pass around a joint, a LARGE portion of conservatives believe that the government should intervene and fine or imprison those college kids.
I can go on for a lot longer, but you get the idea.  Neither liberals nor conservatives are consistent in their belief in small government.  They believe in small government when they want to do something and thus don't want government interference, but when other people are doing something they don't approve of, then they want to government to get really BIG to stop those other people from doing those things of which they themselves don't approve.  The only groups that I think are consistent on that philosophy of small government are the libertarians.

In my journey through life I have progressed through the initial phase of being a political conservative as well as a fundamentalist Christian.  I held those views primarily because others around me did so.  As Mark Twain once observed, "Most people get their religious and political views second hand and without reflection."  That certainly applied to me.  While I was a fundamentalist Christian I certainly got my views second hand, i.e., from other people, and I held those views without reflection, i.e., without thinking about WHY I held those views.

That changed when in 1983 I read the book _The Ominous Parallels_ by Leonard Peikoff. The book is about the parallels between the pre-Nazi Weimar republic of Germany of the 1920s and the United States as of the book's date (early 1980s). It was a really scary book and a lot of what he wrote made sense. The book led me to the writings of Ayn Rand, whose brand of libertarianism she called Objectivism presented challenges to my conservative ideas and beliefs. I then read a lot of Ayn Rand's writings and after reading and thinking then became a libertarian, as her ideas seemed logically consistent, unlike the ideas of conservatism.

I was a hard core libertarian for many years, but in the past few years have begun to soften my views in regards to whether/how the government assists those in need.  So today I would call myself either a liberal leaning libertarian or a libertarian leaning liberal.

Miss @thistlebloom, you once said that "[t]he left is determined to destroy what this country was founded on and they are relentless."  If forced to choose between the labels "left" and "right", I would choose "left", although I find the left/right labels too restrictive.  Do you think I am "determined to destroy what this country was founded on"?  I don't think that (most) conservatives are trying to destroy what this country was founded on, nor do I think (most) liberals are trying to do that either.  I think instead different groups have different visions of what the country can be.  Is it so wrong that we have different visions?  Must we demonize those with whom we disagree?  Sadly, I see so much hate on both sides toward the other.  The hate seems to come more from the right than the left, but both sides are guilty of such hate.  I wish this cycle of hate would end, that people would actually put into practice the Golden Rule rather than simply giving lip service to it and would seek to understand others and points of view rather than simply labeling them as the "Other" and thus deserving of suspicion if not outright hatred.

So, to those of you who have read this far, first, THANK YOU.  Second, I ask you to consider what you believe, whether politacal, religious, or some other issue and ask your self WHY it is you hold such views.  Is it because your views were acquired second hand, i.e., from other people?  Have you reflected on those views to see if they really made sense? Have you looked at other points of view to try to understand what and how and WHY others think the way they do?  If you have done all of that, I commend you.  If you have not, then I think you need to reflect on the idea that you might be wrong.  I try to remind myself of that, namely, that I might be wrong.

Mother Teresa once commented "We cannot all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love."  Are the things you say and do motivated by love or by hate?  By seeking to understand or not?  By seeking to find our common humanity or by giving into our base nature of hatred?  Only you can answer that.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## frustratedearthmother

A million times "LIKE!"  You put that so eloquently - I thank you for the thought and time that went into it!


----------



## thistlebloom

Senile Texas Aggie, I appreciate you taking the time to flesh out your religious and political journey. I'm sure I will not satisfy your query. I am not particularly articulate and don't want to get too wordy. 
  I do not come to these forums to engage in political arguments, so I will not go point by point through your assessments and views of where you may think I am coming from and how my worldview differs from yours. I am not ashamed of my worldview, beliefs and convictions. But I do refuse to get pulled into a debate. That is because I don't see the back and forth arguments of any subject that takes place on these forums regarding core beliefs as an agent of change to any one persons system of beliefs. People "discuss", display their chosen proofs and people go on believing what they had already made up their mind about.

I will say though, that your examples of big govt. vs small govt. scenarios do not make sense to me and I will leave it at that.
That you have swung from one side of the spectrum to the other is an interesting observation and duly noted. I know people who have gone the same direction as you and some who have swung the opposite. 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> The hate seems to come *more from the right* than the left, but both sides are guilty of such hate.



Again, I find this an interesting statement. I guess it has everything to do with your perspective.


As to your urging me (and others) on farmerjans journal to read certain books, I respectfully decline to use my time to explore certain writings, particularly something written by a human responsible for the death and torture of so many millions of other humans.
My time is better spent reading truth.
 I'll finish with a quote from the Bible, Phillipians 4:8.
..."whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."


----------



## Mike CHS

I enjoyed reading your point of view but I will avoid discussion on most of the points since I do like reading your posts but won't argue any of them.   I have read some of Ayn Rand's writings but I have to put them in the same category as Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

I question how you can ignore all of the rioting and looting/burning of cities by left leaning folks and ignore gatherings of supposed right leaning events with nothing happening and consider the right as more hate filled.

I probably should not have responded at all but your post made absolutely no sense to me and I felt I needed to say something to say that I have a feeling that many can't see any logic in your post although I could be completely wrong.


----------



## Baymule

I'm sitting on my fingers on this one.


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## Mike CHS

I probably should have but couldn't bite my cyber tongue.

Edit to add that I enjoy interaction with STA and don't want that to stop,


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## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> The hate seems to come more from the right than the left, but both sides are guilty of such hate.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie











						AOC, Leftists Call for "Lists" of Trump Supporters, Want Them to "Burn"
					

The left is making known that they will seek retribution against supporters of the president if they win the White House.




					thenewamerican.com
				












						Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Suggests ‘Trump Sycophants’ Should Be Held Accountable ‘In The Future’
					

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggested Friday that "Trump sycophants" should be held accountable for their "complicity in the future."




					dailycaller.com
				












						AOC and Dems Making Lists To Make Sure Trump Supporters Receive 'Accountability'
					

Absolutely vile!




					thefederalistpapers.org
				












						Leftists, Never Trumpers Begin Compiling Lists of Trump Supporters
					

Left-wing Democrats and Never Trump Republicans are compiling lists of those "accountable" for supporting President Donald Trump.




					www.breitbart.com
				




More hate from the right? Really?  I find this reprehensible. 

These  people and their followers want to round up 70 million people who voted for Trump and send them to a gulag for re-education. It must be how they show their love for their fellow Americans.

Please note. This is a CIVIL discussion, no name calling, no angry comments, no ugly.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

A person could pull up just as many headlines to the contrary.  It all depends on your outlook and perspective.  The internet offers many options to state a person's opinion. 

Our own beliefs and opinions are what make us unique and special.


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## Baymule

These are from the tweets of a far left socialist part of the party. What I find so disturbing is the rest of the party falls in behind them. Maybe some of the losers on this round are waking up to the fact that the majority of Americans on both sides just don’t hold with these extreme beliefs. But they still support the far leftists with their silence. Please find headlines with actual quotes or tweets from Dems denouncing this madness. My mind is not a closed box. 

I’ll be the first to say that Trump is a big mouth buffoon. He just needs to shut up sometimes. I can see why people are put off by him.  I am too. 

No way I can vote for a socialist agenda. I’ll take freedom and the buffoon.


----------



## Baymule

Another thing, how many Republican “peaceful protestors” have rioted, burned and looted cities? Where’s the videos of destruction? 

Yes, there’s far right racist idiots out there too. I denounce them.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Baymule said:


> Please find headlines with actual quotes or tweets from Dems denouncing this madness.


 Love ya girl, but I'll be sitting on MY fingers for awhile.  There's plenty of info out there that folks can read if they are of a mind to.


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## Baymule

I love you too! I’ll shut up and go to my corner now. Lol


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone, for your comments.  And thanks even more for keeping it civil.

Miss @thistlebloom, thanks for quoting that passage from the Bible.  That one is one of my favorites.


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> As Mark Twain once observed, "Most people get their religious and political views second hand and without reflection."


As a Catholic with 7 kids I used to work with once said "It is easier to create them than convert them". And I think he is right. A good majority of people are raised with particular religious or political beliefs and as you and Twain said, never question or challenge them.



Baymule said:


> These people and their followers want to round up 70 million people who voted for Trump and send them to a gulag for re-education. It must be how they show their love for their fellow Americans.


The issue is "these people" are a very small but vocal minority. I would say that MOST non conservatives would disagree with the concept of "re-education in the Gulag". I also ASSUME that MOST conservatives do not put up groups like the Proud Boys as their standard bearer. I could be wrong on this (but hope I am not).



Baymule said:


> These are from the tweets of a far left socialist part of the party. What I find so disturbing is the rest of the party falls in behind them.


Again, I do not think the rest of the party are "falling in behind". I wonder how the rest of the conservatives in the House are going to deal with Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican congresswoman-elect from Georgia. Outspoken QANON "member". Are they going to "fall in line" with her?



Baymule said:


> are waking up to the fact that the majority of Americans on both sides just don’t hold with these extreme beliefs.


Exactly!!!! I think the country would be better served by a "party" in the middle. You can't please everyone but I think a lot more people would be well served if it weren't the far left or far right that run the show. Everyone gets "something" they want as opposed to "all of mine, none of yours".

I offer this:
"On October 16, 2020, Gallup polling found that 31% of Americans identified as Democrats, 31% identified as Republican, and 36% as Independent."
The quote is from Wikipedia with the source being this poll. Interesting that they didn't include any of the "minor" parties. I guess they are the "unaccounted for" 2%.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I should have stayed in bed this morning.  That way I would have avoided making the two mistakes I made.  The first mistake was spilling coffee.  We currently do not have end tables for our leather sofa.  I normally sit in one corner of the sofa, near where the laptop is on the coffee table.  But there really is no place to put a cup of coffee.  I have tried putting it on the floor, which is a bit inconvenient.  But I often forget it is there and when I get up I kick over the cup onto an Oriental rug my Beautiful Gal has placed under the coffee table and in front of the sofa.  I have tried placing the cup on the coffee table, but it is really inconvenient if I am using my laptop.  Yet I cannot hold a cup in one hand continually.  So this morning after breakfast I tried setting the cup next to me between me and the arm of the sofa.  It seemed stable enough there.  I read through the posts on backyard herds and started to open up YouTube when I heard our cat scratch on the window upstairs indicating he wanted into the house.  I had forgotten the cup was right next to me, and when I got up the cup spilled the hot coffee onto the leather cushion I had been sitting on!  

After getting the mess cleaned up, I changed into my work clothes.  My Beautiful Gal decided to go with me.  We were headed up the driveway across the creek to the woods on the east side of our driveway, as my Beautiful Gal would like a trail made through the woods there up to the gate,  She went in the Gator and I went in the tractor.  When she got to the creek, she parked the Gator on the right just off the road.  I pulled in beside her to see what it was she wanted to do.  She saw on the driveway where the Geocell was in a mess from when I tried to smooth out the slag and gravel with the tractor and ended up pulling up part of the Geocell.  So we cut off the part of the Geocell that was torn up.  Then I decided to try to smooth out the gravel and slag with the tractor's grapple.

When I got into the tractor I completely forgot about the Gator being to the right of the tractor.  I was completely focused on smoothing out the gravel and slag on the road, which was on my left.  I cut the wheel sharply to the left and started backing up, which would swing the rear of the tractor toward the road -- and the front of the tractor toward the Gator.  I quickly felt the tractor shudder and heard the sound.  I had hit the right front fender of the Gator with the grapple, busting it in several places!  Doh!    I was sick!  Too stupid mistakes in less than an hour!  I felt like going back home and going to bed before I tore anything else up.  But we decided to stay, so we were able to get a number of stumps uprooted and vines pulled down before coming home.

Aren't you glad, Miss @farmerjan, that I am not helping remodel your house?

Picture of the Gator's busted fender:


Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

I am sorry you have so many mishaps.  I think that You are more of a "murphy's law" person than I am.... If it can go wrong, it will with me.....Sorry that you were not "paying attention" to the gator while focusing on what you were going to fix.


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch

At least it's just the fender, and that's what it's supposed to do, fend off damage to the vehicle. Accidents happen.


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## frustratedearthmother

Some baling twine will fix that right up.  If that's not enough use some duct tape too!    (really sorry that happened)


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## Baymule

If you want for nothing to ever go wrong, then don't do anything......but who can do THAT?? Not any of us! Things happen.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Regarding the fender, I have cracked both the left and right fenders before.  What I did to somewhat repair them was to use some thin metal as a backing inside the wheel wells, then attaching the metal to the plastic fender pieces using screws.  It isn't pretty but it works.  I will probably do the same this time.

Now on to another topic.  My Beautiful Gal and I were discussing earlier today when it was that we finished clearing the pond.  I knew that I had documented that clearing on my journal, so I went back to the start of the journal and started reading again.  I was deeply moved by all of the different comments made by many different folks.  With my recent foray into politics and saying things that I was fairly certain would not be popular with many others on the form, I feared that I would alienate some people.  I hope that is not the case.  I still value everyone on the forum.  In the past I have considered you as my friends -- and I still do.  I hope that you still consider me as your friend.  I plan not to comment on politics again, with perhaps one exception -- if anyone posts something hateful, in response I may post something humorous, like a Sarah Cooper pantomime, in an effort to lighten the mood.  But other than that, no more comments on politics.  I did not join the forum to discuss politics.  Instead, I joined the forum to learn about farm animals, and tractors, and all things related.  I have found all of that and more -- I have found a community of wonderful people.  So, no more politics.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

As crazy as politics are this year, is is almost inevitable that it bleeds into the different facets of our lives. We are family here. As @frustratedearthmother said,   Our own beliefs and opinions are what make us unique and special. 
We are family, quirky, different, unique and special, every one of us. You are one of our very special family members!


----------



## Bruce

Sorry about the mishap. Know that even if you replaced the fender with a brand spanking new one it won't get close to the cost to repair DD2's car when I backed up moving snow and the raised flail rode up over the headlight onto the hood scratching the former and poking a hole the latter.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Baymule said:


> As crazy as politics are this year, is is almost inevitable that it bleeds into the different facets of our lives. We are family here. As @frustratedearthmother said, Our own beliefs and opinions are what make us unique and special.
> We are family, quirky, different, unique and special, every one of us. You are one of our very special family members!



Miss @Baymule,

Thank you for your kind words.  Sorry I am just now responding.  I had a dental appointment early this morning, and then when I got home, my Beautiful Gal and I went and worked along the edge of the woods until half an hour ago.  The whole time I was out there in my tractor, I was thinking about how I had offended you and how grieved I was to know I had done that.  Miss Baymule, you are one of my favorite folks on this forum -- after all, it was your humorous post of "I Hate Green Briars!" that led me to join the forum. (For those of you new to the forum who have yet to read it, I encourage you to do so, as it is really funny!)

And when I came to the forum to describe the PM I had received from someone on the forum that described how rude I had been to several of you, including you, Miss Baymule, you, Mr. @Mike CHS, and you, Miss @B&B Happy goats, and I explained my rudeness was unintentional and due to my Asperger's Syndrome, then you, Miss Baymule, reassured me that everything was OK and that you considered me a "diamond".  That was one of the most touching things anyone has ever said to me.  (If you were to compare me today to something, Miss Baymule, I fear it would more likely be a lump of coal.)  The others reassured me of the same.  (And to the person who sent me that PM to point out my rudeness, I still say THANK YOU!)

So when I said that "[t]he hate seems to come more from the right than the left, but both sides are guilty of such hate", I perhaps was a victim of my own availabilty bias.  For you see, everyone I know and everyone whom my wife knows whose political views we know are conservatives, often vocal ones (including naming calling).  There is not a single liberal we know personally.  So when I hear political views expressed by the people we know, it is almost always conservative opinions, and it is almost always name-calling of liberals.  As to what the actual amount is of hate expressed by the left for the right, or the right for left, I know of no rigorous study that indicates the amount on each side.  I strongly condemn hatred expressed by either side toward the other.

I want to promote love, not hate; understanding, not suspicion; harmony, not discord; our common humanity, not the things which divide us.  That is why I posted recently the YouTube video of the song "Walk a Mile in My Shoes".  If we seek to understand the other, I think we are less likely to condemn the other.  "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."

Miss @frustratedearthmother has a comment as a part of her signature that I so much love: "Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

Miss @thistlebloom, you once quoted Phillipians 4:8, which bears repeating here: "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."  I agree wholeheartedly with that.  Do you understand now how I feel?

So to those of you I offended, especially to you, Miss @Baymule, I apologize and hope you will forgive me.  I apologize to any others offended by my comments.  I meant no offense by saying "[t]he hate seems to come more from the right than the left..." and was based on my personal experience, which is quite limited.  Instead, I want to promote the things I mentioned above: love, peace, understanding, etc.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

Whoa there! My very dear friend, you did NOT offend me! You asked for discussion, I think that you and I could have a lively debate, with NO hard feelings on either side. My feelings are not hurt, I am not mad, I am not offended in any way. You have NEVER been rude to me and I still thing you are a diamond! I know you have Asperger's and you are honest in your thoughts and speech. There is no guile or dishonesty in you, how refreshing! 

Don't worry about it, you and me, we are ok.


----------



## Mike CHS

I think most of the folks that participate on this forum actively aren't a good example of what is going on the the "news cycle" world or at least they realize that it isn't reality.  You didn't insult anyone but most if not all weren't going to cross the line to start name calling since we don't do that.  I have been on here a long time and I have seen more people stand up when pushed rather than join in with the pusher.


----------



## Bruce

Baymule said:


> I know you have Asperger's and you are honest in your thoughts and speech.


Wouldn't it be an interesting world if more people did that (in non attack mode of course!). There might be a lot less misunderstanding in the long run. I very much appreciate Mr. STA's critical thinking and analysis.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> I very much appreciate Mr. STA's critical thinking and analysis.



Thank you, Mr. @Bruce!


----------



## Finnie

@Senile_Texas_Aggie , I think you deserve some 

For your leather sofa, your Gator, and your concern that you offended your friends.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Finnie,

Thank you for the encouragement!  That means a lot to me!



farmerjan said:


> I hope that he has a good life also. Sad that he has just left altogether.... and some people are just not "animal oriented". That is one of the things that I was trying to impress on @Senile_Texas_Aggie when he said that maybe they ought to get animals for their place. START SMALL and make sure that you really like them......


(from the post located located in the thread My garden)

Thank you, Miss @farmerjan!  You have been a fount of wisdom for me, as well as for many others on this forum.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Not much happening here.  Earlier last week my Beautiful Gal and I worked along the edge of the woods east of the driveway when her favorite tool, the pole saw, started causing her trouble.  I was driving the tractor and was grabbing brush and limbs with the grapple as she cut them down.  She waived for me to stop and come see what was wrong.  She said that the pole saw was acting up, that it would run briefly and then stop.  The battery level indicator showed about 3/4 charge left.  I checked the chain to see if it was bound to the guide bar and it was free to turn.  I then swapped out the battery with a fresh one and tried it again.  The chain turned briefly and then stopped.  Smoke came out from the motor area.  Apparently the windings in the motor had failed.  Since it was a Kobalt brand, which is a Lowe's private brand, I decided to drive to the nearest Lowe's in Fort Smith ~35 miles away to get a new one.

When I got there, the guy behind the returns desk looked at my receipt and my extended warranty (I bought a 2 year extended warranty at the same time as the pole saw).  He told me to go find a replacement pole saw, which I did.  When I returned, he was busy with another customer but asked one of his associates to take over.  She looked at my paperwork again and said that she could not replace the one that failed with a new one from the store because the model had changed.  Instead I would need to call a number which she provided, talk with the folks there, and that they would handle it.  I have had another pole saw fail before and then Lowe's didn't give me any hassle, I simply got a new one from the store.  But not this time.

The next day I called that number, which was for Lowe's extended warranty, and after waiting the obligatory 20 minutes or so on hold, I finally talked to someone.  I provided her with all of the requisite info.  She then told me that because the pole saw was still under factory warranty, I needed to contact the vendor.  Keep in mind Kobalt is a wholly-owned private brand of Lowe's.  It seemed crazy I was having to call another number, but, oh, well.  After calling that number and again being placed on hold for over 10 minutes, a recorded voice interrupted the hold music and said that for faster service I could send an email to ascs@lowes.com to file a claim.  So I hung up and then sent an email to that address, providing all of the pertinent info.

On Friday around noon I received an email in response saying that that I needed to provide either a scanned copy or a photograph of the receipt.  I didn't feel like getting out my scanner, so I simply took a picture of the receipt, attached it to the email and tried to send it.  That's when the fun began.  Three times I tried to send the email and three times Thunderbird (my email client software) complained that the mail server timed out.  Because I sometimes have flakey cell phone service, I thought that may be the cause.  But after 3 times trying and failing, I decided to use the web to try to send the email.  Logging into the web version of the email, I then composed the same email, attached the picture of my receipt, and hit "send".  The mail interface sat for a bit and then responded with the error message "No internet".  "Huh?  You email server are the internet, or at least a node on it."  I then looked into the sent folder and saw 4 copies of the email, the 3 from Thunderbird and the 1 from the web interface, with time/date stamps close together in time.  So I don't know if I sent the email to ascs@lowes.com 4 times, or if the email never got sent.  I have yet to hear back from Lowe's, but that may be caused by it being late on Friday when I tried to send the email and no one had time to look at the claim prior to the end of the day.  I guess I will find out tomorrow.

So I am a bit disappointed that Lowe's simply didn't exchange the inoperable pole saw with a new one.  We have owned or still own a total of 6 of these Kobalt pole saws.  Most of the ones that have failed did so because of damage we did to them, usually by having them in the back of the Gator and then catching the ends of the saw on a tree as we passed by.  Only one other has failed due to pole saw itself failing.  Besides the one that failed last week, we have one other functional pole saw where the shaft is bent (where we accidentally ran over the shaft with the Gator and bent it), but it is awkward to hold.  And since we put these saws through a lot of work, certainly not the typical suburban homeowner usage, I can hardly complain.  But Lowe's making go through this hassle to get a replacement certainly is a disappointment.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

When I was kid growing up in Northeast Texas, we had a rare snowstorm that dropped barely enough snow for me to make a snow man about 2 feet tall.  I got a baseball cap and put on top of the snowman, which completely covered the top of the snowman.  I then called my mom and two sisters to come out and look at my snowman.  When they did, they started laughing at the pitiful sight.  I got mad at them.  My mom took a picture and she saved it in her photo albums.  We always laugh now when we talk about that, but it wasn't funny to me at the time.

I tell the above story because the pictures I am about to show are similar to that snowman.  These are pictures of the colors we had recently here in western Arkansas.  Compared to the fall colors that Mr. @Bruce had in Vermont, Miss @farmerjan had in the Blue Ridge mountains area, Miss @chickens really had in Alberta, Miss @thistlebloom had in Idaho, and Mr. @Mike CHS had in Tennessee, then they will compare to those colors the way my snowman would to a real honest-to-goodness snow man.  Nevertheless, here are a few pictures of the colors we had here in western Arkansas.

Sweetgum trees on our pond dam: 


Ridge behind our house: 

Sweetgum and sycamore: 

Sweetgum: 

And this song is just because I am feeling nostalgic:






Senile Texas


----------



## farmerjan

I see nothing wrong with the colors of fall in your area.  Different trees different colors.  


Love John Denvers' Take me home.....


----------



## thistlebloom

We actually don't get lots of colors right around here. it's mostly pine woods, very little hardwoods except in town where the color trees have been planted. You have lovely land and your trees are pretty as they are.


----------



## rachels.haven

Hey, and it's hard to make a snowman where it doesn't snow much! That probably took MORE work than it would up here. But I bet your temps were more comfortable than they are in the winter up here. Everywhere has its perks and drawbacks.


----------



## chickens really

Great pictures..I loved the song too..👏👍❤️


----------



## Baymule

Lowes is giving you the run around. Go back to the store and complain to the manager.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Calling all electrical experts!  Why would replacement LED lights for a florescent light fixture not work?  After replacing the burned out florescent bulbs with the LED bulbs and their not working, I thought at first that the light fixture was not getting any power, or perhaps the ballast or transformer (if present) was blown, but I did a voltage check between the two socket ends and found a reading of 257V in one socket slot and 261V in the other socket slot.  I then concluded that someone had wired the florescent lights for 240V instead 120V.  But a voltage check at the light switch showed only 123V to ground, and there was only 1 circuit breaker that controlled the lights, rather than a pair.  I am guessing (<- dangerous word) that the ballast provides a higher voltage than normal to start the bulbs, but I don't know.  At any rate, the LED bulbs are not working.  I will probably replace the burned out florescent bulbs with work florescent bulbs, but I would really like to know why the LED bulbs are not working.  Any ideas?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

Nope. Electrical dummy here.


----------



## Larsen Poultry Ranch

Husband (electrician) says it might be the bulb. Some led bulbs can work ballasted (both side have power-like your old florescent bulbs), some work with direct power (one side power and other is neutral), and some are designed to work in either scenario. If the bulb is direct power only, it will not work with the current ballast, and you will need to rewire the fixture (unless you just switch which bulbs you are using). Do you still have the packaging from the new led bulbs? That should tell you the power requirements for the bulb.


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Keep in mind Kobalt is a wholly-owned private brand of Lowe's


Ah, I didn't know that!



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> So I am a bit disappointed that Lowe's simply didn't exchange the inoperable pole saw with a new one.


A BIT?  I would be more like a LOT disappointed. Seriously poor customer service there. I know some things tell you in the manual to call xxx, do not return to the store for warranty claims. If your manual doesn't say that then you are being put through the ringer. I bet they do that so a quantity of people will give up.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Only one other has failed due to pole saw itself failing.


Time for a different brand?



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> We always laugh now when we talk about that, but it wasn't funny to me at the time.


I think a snowman of ANY size in that situation is an accomplishment!!



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> then they will compare to those colors the way my snowman would to a real honest-to-goodness snow man


Looks like color to me. If you want more, plant some more deciduous trees that have fall color 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> that the ballast provides a higher voltage than normal to start the bulbs, but I don't know.


Or maybe you DO know!

Are these tubes? And are they in the house or the shop? Meaning are the fixtures decorative? I've bought several Fiet 2 tube 4' work lights at Costco, pretty cheap with the Efficiency Vermont rebates. As Miss Larson ('s hubby) said, it is likely the tube needs direct 120V, no transformer. *I* would try removing the ballast and see if it works. *You* can choose to try that or not 
An LED light site for reference

Be aware that if it is on a dimmer it may not work, not all dimmers work properly with LEDs.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thank you, Miss @Larsen Poultry Ranch!

After reading your post, and talking to my Beautiful Gal, I decided to buy more florescent lights instead of LED lights.  After all, for the room where these lights are I very rarely going, and my wife, while going in that room more often than I, still goes in there only occasionally.  I dislike florescent lights due to their flickering and/or buzzing.  But florescent lights don't bother my wife.  Thus my decision to buy replacement florescent lights.

Before going to the store, though, I decided to try the other LED lights I had bought.  Because I have 4 lighting fixtures in the room, and each fixture has 4 bulbs, I bought 4 LED bulbs at Ace Hardware (which claimed to work in any LED light fixture with no rewiring needed), and 4 was all they had, and I bought 4 more at Walmart, I put the 4 Ace LED bulbs in one fixture first.  When the bulbs didn't work, that is when I measured voltage between sockets and came in and did the post.  But as I was about to leave to go to the hardware store to get florescent bulbs, I decided to try the Walmart bulbs instead.  The Walmart bulbs worked!  Hurray!  So at least I saved myself a trip to the hardware store.

But while replacing the Ace bulbs with the Walmart bulbs, I discovered something I found troubling.  I had turned off the power at the switch, but not at the circuit breaker.  While trying to install one of the bulbs, I touched one end of the bulb to the metal housing of the fixture (which is grounded) while having the other end of the bulb in the fixture socket.  The bulb lit up -- dimly, but it lit up.  If the fixtures were wired correctly, the 120V leg should go to the switch first, and then to the fixture, where it then flows across the bulb into the other end, where a neutral wire is connected, which goes back to the circuit box.  It seemed that whoever wired the circuit had the 120V leg go to the fixture, into the bulb, and the neutral leg then go to the switch.  That is a dangerous way to do it.  I get the impression that the guy who wired the shop didn't know as much as I do (which isn't too much), which is a scary thought.

Mr. @Bruce, you posted as I was composing this post.  That looks very interesting.  I will need to read up more on how florescent lights work, as I did not know that the ballast could be removed and there be current at the florescent bulb sockets.

Thank you to everyone who responded.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Larsen Poultry Ranch

Yay! I'm glad you were able to get the second set of bulbs working! Hubby had to repeat the explanation several times as I was typing it, electrical stuff isn't my strong suit. What @Bruce said is likely what my hubby was talking about when he said it could be rewired to be able to use the led bulbs that weren't working with the current configuration.

It's a bummer so many people install or wire up things incorrectly and potentially dangerously. Hopefully it would be an easy fix if you decide to fix the incorrect wiring.


----------



## Bruce

I won't buy fluorescent lights any more, LED all the way. Better light, longer lasting.

Yeah I suspect code says the power should hit the switch first then the light but it will work the other way around. Maybe the guy who wired your place is the guy we bought this house from


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Well it seems I have displeased the gods again: the Sisyphean task of the water line leaking in the field is back.  About a month ago, after the water had not leaked for months, and after I had piled the dirt back and it had settled for months, I decided to try to level the dirt out to make it where grass could grow again and where tractors and mowers could drive over that ditch/excavation again.  After leveling out the dirt with my FEL bucket, I drove over the ditch with the tractor.  Nothing terrible happened that I could tell.  But about 2 weeks or so later, I noticed that the field near the water pipe was wet.  Because it had rained recently and there were other places in the pasture that were wet, I didn't think much of it.  I even checked the water meter to see if it was flowing, and it was not.


But the place next to the pipe has remained wet, I have concluded that the pipe is leaking enough to make the ground wet but not enough to make the water meter turn.  I have carefully watched the water meter, and it does not turn, but I can hear water slowly flowing through it, so I fairly certain that the pipe is leaking.  So now I am faced with the dilemma of repairing it now, with the weather (and water) cool and possibly getting really cold, or wait until next spring after it has warmed back up, assuming the leak doesn't get any worse.

Oh the joys of home ownership and incompetent repair!  

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Rassa frassa no good water pipe!!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you on BYH!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I have been intending to ask this question and have kept forgetting.  Now I have finally remembered.  I fear the answer to the question will be (gulp!) bad.  What has happened to Miss Devonviolet?  The last time she posted to her journal was April 28.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

I think they decided they just didn't have the physical capacity to have the goats anymore and sold them. I guess she figures "no goats, no BYH"? I'm sure they are busy doing something and @Baymule would have good info on their status.


----------



## farmerjan

@Baymule  would have more accurate info I am sure; but @Devonviolet  developed some allergies to the goat milk and they just decided there was no point in keeping them if they couldn't even utilize the milk from them.  It was difficult for her to sell them as she had had them for quite awhile and there was one from  given by the kids when things were disbursed.
  I miss hearing how they are doing also, but hope that they are well and happy.


----------



## Baymule

They did sell their milk goats and bought a couple of meat does to go with their Fainting Goat buck. She has been busy with various projects, but mainly they are staying home and trying to stay healthy. Neither one of them wants Covid.  They are doing well.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I am sorry to learn that she had to give up her dairy goats, but I am relieved to learn it was not as bad as what I feared -- that she had passed away and I somehow failed to see the post announcing it.  Miss @Baymule, please tell her I said hello.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Just listened to this song a few minutes ago.  It seems even more appropriate now than it did when she released it back in 1990.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Baymule said:


> but mainly they are staying home and trying to stay healthy. Neither one of them wants Covid. They are doing well.


Then she has plenty of time to check in with us occasionally  
Tell her I said Hi as well.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I thought I'd post something to let everyone know what we have been up to lately.

Last week the gate opener was acting up again.  When it acts up, it will open up fully, wait a few seconds, then start closing again partially.  It is designed to do that should it encounter an obstacle when opening.  But here lately it will sometimes do that when there are no obstacles.  I have learned that if I reset the controller by cycling power that it go back to working properly again.  Well, sometime last week it acted up again, so I cycled power on the controller.  I do not have an on/off switch to cycle power but instead I must disconnect one of the wires coming from the battery to the controller board.  When I disconnected the ground wire from the battery, I accidentally touched something with the ground wire.  The controller board no longer worked.  I hoped that I had blown a fuse somewhere but all of the fuses checked out OK.  I removed the circuit board to see if there was a burned component but did not see anything obvious.  So now I will need to order a new controller board.  Ouch!

I finally gave up on getting Lowes/Kobalt to respond to my warranty claim.  Three times I contacted Kobalt, the first time by email, the second one by calling, and the third time by email.  Each time Kobalt responded, I would supply all of the requested info, and on subsequent emails provide the earlier emails showing my responses.  I would never hear anything from them.  So after the third time of no response, I decided to call the store in Fort Smith to speak with the store manager.  On both of the times I called the store, no one answered the phone.  (I guess they are so busy with Christmas shoppers.)  So I decided to give up on them and posted a review on Lowes website about the poor warranty support.  I also ordered a DeWalt pole saw and a DeWalt battery chainsaw from Amazon, which is supposed to arrive next week.  Miss @farmerjan, I will let you know how well these tools work to help you decide.

We have been working in the two circled areas, clearing out underbrush and small trees.  Dummy me keeps forgetting to take pictures:




Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Sad that Lowes is so lacking in customer support. Kinda makes a guy not want to give them money.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Sad that Lowes is so lacking in customer support. Kinda makes a guy not want to give them money.



Yes, it does, Mr. @Bruce!  Customer service was one of the biggest reasons I shopped at Lowes.  Prior to this time I had never had a problem with returning anything if it wasn't working properly.  But this experience made me decide to replace that pole saw with one made by DeWalt.  I also ordered a chainsaw by DeWalt.  (I did not get either of them from Lowes.)  They both arrived late yesterday.  I have yet to use them.  Once I do use them, I will let everyone know how well they work.


----------



## Baymule

I am not a Lowes fan, but buy simple things from them, such as deck screws and things that will not need repair. Our washer/dryer came from Lowes, as did our dishwasher. Trying to get service for the dishwasher was a joke-on me. Never again. We went to a local family business in Tyler for our second freezer because they have their own service department and I want to patronize local businesses with no ties to Wall Street as much as possible. 

Our small businesses need us now more than ever. Support local restaurants, by take out if nothing else. Shop small businesses!


----------



## Mike CHS

Literally all of our appliances came from a locally owned store that we have been more than happy with.  We have had a couple of small issues that was taken care of with no problem.  They even compared prices to the big stores and came in under them by a bit.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I've started to try to support local businesses more, such as local hardware stores, etc.  I could always do more, I suppose.

I am finally about to got out and try the new chainsaw and pole saw.  The past few days have been cloudy and cold, and I will admit to being a wimp.  I am not tough like Miss @farmerjan, Miss @Baymule, Miss @Ridgetop, Miss @rachels.haven, Mr. @Mike CHS, and Mr. @Bruce!  But it is supposed to be warm enough today not to be so miserable.  I will let everyone know how the tools work out.

Here is something I have been intending on posting but have kept forgetting.  I don't know how successful anyone else was in seeing the comet Neowise, but my Beautiful Gal and I never saw it.  Maybe we weren't looking in the right place or at the right time.  Fortunately this guy knew where to look and took a lot of photos over the weeks the comet was visible:






Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

Nothing wrong with wanting a warm day! I have to go out in all weather to care for the animals, no matter what. Sometimes, once I get out there, it's not so bad. Other times, I just want to get done and get back inside! LOL


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Yesterday my Beautiful Gal and I went to the woods near the pond to continue clearing out the underbrush.  I drove the tractor enough to tear up the ground between the pond and the woods to begin to turn the ground into a muddy area.  So we probably won't be able to use the tractor there for the rest of the winter.    But we did learn how well the DeWalt pole saw and chainsaw worked.  My Beautiful Gal gives them both her seal of approval.  So, Miss @farmerjan, you should be able to buy either one with confidence.  Here are the two tools I bought:

DeWalt 20V Max XR 12" Tool only (no batteries)





DeWalt 20V Max XR Pole Saw, 15 foot reach, Tool only




I didn't buy batteries with my tools as I already have 8 or so of the batteries.  Of course, I cannot attest to the durability of the tools, nor to how good or bad DeWalt is to honor its warranty.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

My Beautiful Gal and I finally looked at Jupiter and Saturn convergence last night.  I wanted to go ahead and look even thought they are supposed to be closest tonight,  I feared that if we waited until tonight to see them that it would be cloudy and we would miss out.  We were able to see the two planets close to one another using binoculars.  I never was able to see Saturn with the naked eye, only through the binoculars.  So you folks might can see the convergence without binoculars better than I was able to.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Unfortunately for us we expect near 100% cloud cover tonight, as it was last night. Guess we'll not likely to live long enough to see the convergence the next time. Actually I REALLY hope not 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Fortunately this guy knew where to look and took a lot of photos over the weeks the comet was visible:


Nice pictures, we missed it as well. 



Baymule said:


> Nothing wrong with wanting a warm day! I have to go out in all weather to care for the animals, no matter what. Sometimes, once I get out there, it's not so bad. Other times, I just want to get done and get back inside! LOL


It's "not so bad" when the temps are above freezing. Not much one can do when it is 0°F!!


----------



## Baymule

We saw it, it is so bright. Don't think I'll be around in 2080!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Today my Beautiful Gal and I finished a trail we had been working on for a while.  We had originally did the potion of the trail in yellow, but yesterday and today we made the part of the trail highlighted in orange.  We decided to do that because my Beautiful Gal commented a few weeks ago that she wished she had a path through the woods whenever she goes on her daily walk.  (She walks the mile round trip from our house to the gate and back most every day.)  Now with the completed path she can enjoy the woods better.  I marked the trail with yellow and orange tape on the trees so that she can stay on the path easily.  I'll try to get pictures or maybe even a short video clip of the path soon and post them.

Path through the woods next to the driveway:    


Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## farmerjan

Nice to do with the path and giving her a "different place" to walk.   Good for her to walk and keep herself in shape too.  I am hoping that the eventual knee replacement will allow me to go back to walking the pastures alot more.


----------



## Baymule

She had a nice walk before, now she has a serene walk through the woods. Lovely!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

I know I am a day early, but in case anyone leaves early to travel, I want to wish everyone



_Happy holidays!_​


----------



## Ridgetop

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I am not tough like Miss @farmerjan, Miss @Baymule, Miss @Ridgetop, Miss @rachels.haven, Mr. @Mike CHS, and Mr. @Bruce!



I am not as tough as those guys!  In fact I am getting wimpier day by day!  LOL  You are plenty tough enough STA!  There is no shame in wanting to avoid freezing tems, drenching rain, etc.  We are all old enough to enjoy being warm and dry!


----------



## Mike CHS

If it wasn't for the fact that the animals water was freezing over pretty fast yesterday, I would not have gone outside yesterday at all.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, all, for the encouragement.

Yesterday I went over the 300 hour mark on the Kioti tractor.  Boy, those hours went by quickly!  Since I bought the tractor on June 30, that works out to be 1.7 hours/day 7 days a week usage.  In the past several days when it has been cold, I have really been glad I got the cab.  I have been nice and warm inside.  Today I plan to go out and start removing fallen limbs and downed trees along the trail we cut through the woods.  We want the pathway and surrounding woods to look a bit more like a park than a wilderness.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Ridgetop

You are having FUN on your tractor!  As well as getting a lot done.  Keep safe.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

_Happy New Year to everyone!_​


----------



## Ridgetop




----------



## Baymule

STA, you have been all over the forum wishing everyone a Happy New Year. 

*HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR 2021!!!!!!!*


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Daxigait,

I noticed your posting recently on several different journals I follow.  I don't recall seeing you before, even though you have been on the forum longer than I have.  Your avatar pictures a young woman (you ?) posing with a horse.  Because of that, I thought I would mention to you two new folks on the forum who are interested in horses.  Maybe you can get to know them and make them feel more welcome.

Miss @Hudson and me is from New South Wales, Australia,  She likes to show her horse in competition.  Her journal is called "Hudson&me’s journal".

Miss @Palomino is from Texas.  She has mini horses that she shows in competition.  Here journal is called "Palomino's Training Journal".

One other person who has been on the forum a little while longer but is still keenly interested in horses is Miss @Thislebloom, who is in Idaho.  She has a horse named Syringa, whom she loves dearly.  Her journal is called "Thistleblooms Rambles".

There are many more folks on the forum who have an interest in horses, and I am sure you have already met most of them.  I mention the ones above hoping that you can make them feel welcome and wanting to post more.

BTW, is there a particular region on the forum where you normally post?  I might want to read more.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Daxigait

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Miss @Daxigait,
> 
> I noticed your posting recently on several different journals I follow.  I don't recall seeing you before, even though you have been on the forum longer than I have.  Your avatar pictures a young woman (you ?) posing with a horse.  Because of that, I thought I would mention to you two new folks on the forum who are interested in horses.  Maybe you can get to know them and make them feel more welcome.
> 
> Miss @Hudson and me is from New South Wales, Australia,  She likes to show her horse in competition.  Her journal is called "Hudson&me’s journal".
> 
> Miss @Palomino is from Texas.  She has mini horses that she shows in competition.  Here journal is called "Palomino's Training Journal".
> 
> One other person who has been on the forum a little while longer but is still keenly interested in horses is Miss @Thislebloom, who is in Idaho.  She has a horse named Syringa, whom she loves dearly.  Her journal is called "Thistleblooms Rambles".
> 
> There are many more folks on the forum who have an interest in horses, and I am sure you have already met most of them.  I mention the ones above hoping that you can make them feel welcome and wanting to post more.
> 
> BTW, is there a particular region on the forum where you normally post?  I might want to read more.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


Hello, yes that's me with Corsario the finest horse I ever owned. I lost him in the fall of 2012. it's hard to believe that's been that long and it sure hurts my heart still. I do still have one continuing my love affair with horses in my current Peruvian Paso Lucy, but my passion now is more often for my Nubian goats.  I was active more a couple of years ago when BYC was being redone.  I have a couple of threads I really enjoyed that have fallen quite.  I just got busy and basically just forgot to check back.
I liked coffee anyone? and there used to be an Alaska one I haven't looked back up yet I need to, and some by Southern by Choice/Goat Whisperer.
Share what you have learned to help others, and my Triple Share Nubians 2019 kids and more.
Thanks for the welcome.  I actually read the being of your thread a couple of days ago.   You certainly put a bunch out there in the beginning.
BTW how did you get the arial pond shots?  Did you use a drone?


----------



## Bruce

Goat Whisperer and Southern By Choice have been silent for many many months.


----------



## Daxigait

Bruce said:


> Goat Whisperer and Southern By Choice have been silent for many many months.


. it looks like the Alaskan thread is silent too


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Daxigait said:


> BTW how did you get the arial pond shots? Did you use a drone?



I used Google Earth.  I have considered buying a drone.  I think it would be neat to be able to see our property that way.  But I cannot justify the cost.  There is always some tool or tractor attachment I would prefer spending my money on.



Bruce said:


> Goat Whisperer and Southern By Choice have been silent for many many months.





Daxigait said:


> . it looks like the Alaskan thread is silent too



I had been intending on reading their journals but never have.  There are several folks on the forum whose journals I have yet to start reading, not because I am not interested in their lives -- I am -- but because I figure that I need to start at the beginning of their journal so I will know more about them.  For example, I am currently reading Miss @Jesusfreak101's journal but I am not all that far along.  Eventually I will get caught up.  Then I will start on another one and get caught up on that journal.  So it is not that there are some folks I like and some I do not, so much as there are some folks on whose journals I have read and those whose journals I have yet to read.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Daxigait

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I used Google Earth.  I have considered buying a drone.  I think it would be neat to be able to see our property that way.  But I cannot justify the cost.  There is always some tool or tractor attachment I would prefer spending my money on.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I had been intending on reading their journals but never have.  There are several folks on the forum whose journals I have yet to start reading, not because I am not interested in their lives -- I am -- but because I figure that I need to start at the beginning of their journal so I will know more about them.  For example, I am currently reading Miss @Jesusfreak101's journal but I am not all that far along.  Eventually I will get caught up.  Then I will start on another one and get caught up on that journal.  So it is not that there are some folks I like and some I do not, so much as there are some folks on whose journals I have read and those whose journals I have yet to read.
> 
> Senile Texas AggieI


I don't have time to do that much reading so I just jump in.


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> There is always some tool or tractor attachment I would prefer spending my money on.


You need a camera mounted under the tractor and rotors mounted on the ROPS 



Daxigait said:


> . it looks like the Alaskan thread is silent too


Alaskan is still active on BYC.


----------



## Daxigait

you asked about threads and if you're on byc my favorite thread I ever did was one about  you might be a redneck if...

I also spent a lot of time over the years on SallySunshine's thread about brooding. We had one thread that maxed out and then they had to start another one before things eventually died out when Sally didn't have time anymore it's still has a few posts here and there but it it's nowhere near where it used to be where you'd get 2,000 posts in a day.


----------



## Ridgetop

Bruce said:


> Goat Whisperer and Southern By Choice have been silent for many many months.


Southern has health problems.  I hope she is ok.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

On Thursday we received the controller board for the automatic gate opener after I fried the previous controller board a couple of weeks ago when trying to cycle power to the board.  Yesterday I braved the harsh climate of ominous dark clouds, gale-force winds (~ 5 MPH), and bone-chilling temperatures (~ 45° F, ~ 7° C).  I toiled for at least 30 minutes -- 30 MINUTES! -- getting the board installed.  But I finally got it done.  I returned home and went inside and stood by the fire while I warmed up.  Thus ended the adventure of installing a new gate controller.  I tell you, this retirement life is wearing me out! 

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Ridgetop

Look at what you have learned in the few years you have been doing this!  Self sufficiency is worth earning!


----------



## Finnie

Ridgetop said:


> Southern has health problems.  I hope she is ok.


They are active on Facebook. I checked their page last year some time, and did you know, SOUTHERN FINALLY GOT TO MOVE TO A NEW FARM!!!
All these years she talked about it, and now when it finally happened, she never posted on BYH about it. I really miss their posts.😢


			https://m.facebook.com/Wingin-it-Farms-Home-of-Wings-Caprines-1083935584954912/


----------



## Finnie

Finnie said:


> They are active on Facebook. I checked their page last year some time, and did you know, SOUTHERN FINALLY GOT TO MOVE TO A NEW FARM!!!
> All these years she talked about it, and now when it finally happened, she never posted on BYH about it. I really miss their posts.😢
> 
> 
> https://m.facebook.com/Wingin-it-Farms-Home-of-Wings-Caprines-1083935584954912/


Oh my gosh, I was just scrolling down that link I posted, and I saw this!! (Screenshot)




No fair them only posting on Facebook!! 😫


----------



## Bruce

I'm glad they got their new farm, I know that was in the works a few years ago but like many the right place has to come around at the right time and price.

I'm sure they are thrilled to get pups from Callie and D's line.'s, now Mike & Teresa's Mel, is one of their pups.

Sorry to hear the SBC is having health issues, IIRC that has been a long running problem.


----------



## Bruce

Good work STA, sorry you had to suffer that awful winter weather to get it done.


----------



## Ridgetop

Glad to find out that there was a happy ending to SBC's lack of communication.  I don't do Facebook.


----------



## Ridgetop

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I tell you, this retirement life is wearing me out!


DH says that being retired is actually being re-tired!  LOL  He can't believe all we got done when he was working long hours and often 6 days a week.  He says he has _more_ to do now that he isn't going in to work!


----------



## Bruce

That is how it works isn't it? Retirement is a 7 day a week job for which you get no pay. Of course one can choose just how much work they want to do, what they want to pay someone else to do and what to get rid of because you don't want to do either of those things.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Baymule,

Did you get any snow?  If so, would you post them?  I would be honored to have you post them on my journal.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

We got 5" of snow. It started Sunday at 1:00 and snowed until after dark, light fluffy snow. Monday most of it melted and today very little is left.


----------



## Baymule

Bear grass. My Grandpa told me how they used bear grass to hang hams in the smoke house. I let it grow when it comes up, it reminds me of him.






chicken coop




Goldie the steer. He mostly stayed in the Pig Palace with his round bale of hay. He came out for his feed. LOL


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thank you, Miss @Baymule!


----------



## Alaskan

Baymule said:


> We got 5" of snow. It started Sunday at 1:00 and snowed until after dark, light fluffy snow. Monday most of it melted and today very little is left.
> 
> View attachment 80427


That is 5 inches?


----------



## Alaskan

Achem, it is real pretty.


----------



## Ridgetop

In one day out the next - my favorite kind of snow!


----------



## Baymule

Alaskan said:


> That is 5 inches?


No, the pictures were taken when it first started snowing.


----------



## Bruce

Alaskan said:


> That is 5 inches?


Now we know why they say everything in TX is big, they can't measure!!!


----------



## Bruce

@Senile_Texas_Aggie it has been a month since you posted here. Is everything OK????


----------



## thistlebloom

I've been wondering about you as well.


----------



## farmerjan

My thoughts also because he normally would have acknowledged the holiday...


----------



## Alaskan

farmerjan said:


> My thoughts also because he normally would have acknowledged the holiday...


Holiday?  Is there a holiday?


 (joking......)


----------



## Alaskan

But yeah, from one Aggie to another, how ya doing?


----------



## Bruce

Alaskan said:


> Holiday?  Is there a holiday?
> 
> 
> (joking......)


forgot to get the spouse a card, eh Al?


----------



## Alaskan

Bruce said:


> forgot to get the spouse a card, eh Al?


Kid picked up chocolate!!!  

Great kid!!!


----------



## Bruce

Saved your hiney I guess


----------



## rachels.haven

Hope you're doing okay, Mr. @Senile_Texas_Aggie . Best wishes whatever adventures or misadventures you are up to.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone, for the well wishes.  As I mentioned on Mr. @Bruce's journal, I needed to take a break from the forum and just now have felt the need to get back to the journal.  All is well here in western Arkansas.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Baymule

What a relief to find you well and that you are back. You were missed!


----------



## Mini Horses

Agree, a relief!!  Glad all is well.


----------



## farmerjan

@Senile_Texas_Aggie .......SOOOOO Glad to see your post.  I didn't see your post on @Bruce 's journal that said you needed to take a break, and kept coming back to your journal, hoping that you would say something here.   Like @CntryBoy777  did on his journal, saying he was going to stop posting and all due to his concerns with the gov't problems, and tracking people and things.... at least we KNEW it was not us, or anything personal, and we knew that he was okay, did not just stop posting.  
Honestly, I think many of us were very worried that something had happened to you or your beautiful gal with all the covid crap, and if it was tragic, no one would know..... 
Many of us have at least one other member that has personal contact info.... and you might want to consider that.... say let @Bruce or someone have a phone number so that if you go missing, that person could call you and then at least pass on to everyone else that you are okay....but just "off" for awhile.... or if there is an illness or at worst a tragedy, we would all be able to know and help if possible.  Like with @Latestater when Joe went in the hosp and then suddenly passed away....at least we had @Devonviolet to let us know and all that,  as sad as it was.....

BUT glad that things are okay and looking forward to hearing from you.


----------



## Finnie

@Senile_Texas_Aggie  Wow! I was JUST thinking about you this morning! There’s a new person on The Easy Garden who is probably going to read through all of Baymule’s threads, and it made me think of how you found BYH because of her I Hate Greenbriers thread. And then I wanted to mention that, but you were never around any more, so I decided to just keep quiet.

I’m so glad you’re back!  And I’m so glad you and your Beautiful Gal are ok!


----------



## Baymule

Finnie said:


> @Senile_Texas_Aggie  Wow! I was JUST thinking about you this morning! There’s a new person on The Easy Garden who is probably going to read through all of Baymule’s threads, and it made me think of how you found BYH because of her I Hate Greenbriers thread. And then I wanted to mention that, but you were never around any more, so I decided to just keep quiet.
> 
> I’m so glad you’re back!  And I’m so glad you and your Beautiful Gal are ok!


Who is stalking me on TEG? LOL LOL


----------



## Baymule

Finnie said:


> @Senile_Texas_Aggie  Wow! I was JUST thinking about you this morning! There’s a new person on The Easy Garden who is probably going to read through all of Baymule’s threads, and it made me think of how you found BYH because of her I Hate Greenbriers thread. And then I wanted to mention that, but you were never around any more, so I decided to just keep quiet.
> 
> I’m so glad you’re back!  And I’m so glad you and your Beautiful Gal are ok!


Oh, I figured out who is stalking me on TEG. She doesn't live very far from me, so we will have to become real face to face friends!


----------



## Finnie

Baymule said:


> Oh, I figured out who is stalking me on TEG. She doesn't live very far from me, so we will have to become real face to face friends!


Yes, that’s the one!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Finnie said:


> @Senile_Texas_Aggie Wow! I was JUST thinking about you this morning! There’s a new person on The Easy Garden who is probably going to read through all of Baymule’s threads, and it made me think of how you found BYH because of her I Hate Greenbriers thread. And then I wanted to mention that, but you were never around any more, so I decided to just keep quiet.
> 
> I’m so glad you’re back!  And I’m so glad you and your Beautiful Gal are ok!



Thank you so much!  Now you can mention me to that new person on TEG, and tell them that I have been a stalker as well!


----------



## Finnie

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Thank you so much!  Now you can mention me to that new person on TEG, and tell them that I have been a stalker as well!


Done!

And since @Wyndsong is a member here, I told her I would tag her in this conversation and invite her over!

 Hi Wyndsong!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Ridgetop,

The following text is a quote from a post you made recently on Mr. @High Desert Cowboy's journal (located here: https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/high-desert-cowboy-how-far-is-it-up-north.36780/post-686324)



Ridgetop said:


> Most true scientists are saying that this is a normal weather pattern that occurs every so many generations. Ignore the liberals and their howls of climate change.



Could you provide me with a list of the names of those true scientists who do not think that the current heating of the globe is caused by human activity?  I would be interested in reading what they have to say.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Alaskan

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Miss @Ridgetop,
> 
> The following text is a quote from a post you made recently on Mr. @High Desert Cowboy's journal (located here: https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/high-desert-cowboy-how-far-is-it-up-north.36780/post-686324)
> 
> 
> 
> Could you provide me with a list of the names of those true scientists who do not think that the current heating of the globe is caused by human activity?  I would be interested in reading what they have to say.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


I don't know about scientists....

But I know half of Texas used to be under water.... I used to dig up fossilized sea snail shells out in the hill country...

And Lost Maples park, has Maples..   a remnant from when Texas was way cooler and wetter and had Maples all over... but as Texas got hotter and drier the only Maples that were able to survive are there at that park....  where a unique micro climate keeps them happy. 

Then there is palmetto state park where palmettos grow....  and again, just a remnant area left over from when Texas had a climate similar to modern Florida.

All of that DRASTIC change was way before the industrial revolution.   

It is possible that humans are accelerating things, but drastic climate changes have always happened.

The big issue is before the modern age if a river flooded, or the coastline changed... you just moved..

nowadays it is way more difficult to do that..

Personally, I think we should focus more on the things that CLEARLY are man made and make a huge impact on the environment. 

Like plastic.

So bad.


----------



## Ridgetop

Alaskan is right.  Just look at the areas that used to be lake beds in the middle of deserts.  Death Valley used to be one huge lake.  Rivers have changed course or dried up.  All happening before human industrial age.  

Studies were made years ago of rising waters of Great Lakes by scientists.  First hypothesis was that human occupation had changed the lake elevations  Scientific tests and studies determined that the lakes had been much higher many centuries before modern people arrived and built homes there.  As well as much lower at other times in history.

The cliff dwellers of Arizona lived in those areas when the land had a lot of water and was fertile.  When the land grew dryer they moved away.

In any study of archeology you will find that climates have changed all over the world for thousands of years.  This has caused human migration from place to place.  

In our own history there was a mini ice age across Europe centuries ago.  

Our lives are short compared to this planet.  Just because we are seeing climatic changes during the current times does not mean that they are unknown throughout history.  I do not remember the names of the individual different scientists that have argued about climate change being unknown until modern times.  I have seen many programs on History channel, National geographic etc.  You can find their articles on line.  Assuming they have not been removed.  

Since certain political powers of the current government want to use climate change to ensure more control of our lives, many of these scientists are not being publicized.  Rather like those epidemiologists that are saying the vaccines are not safe for children and young adults.  We have both gotten the Phizer vaccine with no problem.  One of our friends got her vaccine and has had constant physical problems ever since.  She has that rash that is so painful all over her body and the doctors don't have anything they can do for it.  Continual muscle aches and weakness.  And the government insists everyone should have it including children who have almost no danger from Covid.  

Climate change has been a naturally occurring phenomenon for millennia.  In addition, the majority of impact on the current climate is not occurring from the US.  It is currently is coming from China and India, neither of whom have to do anything to cut back on their problematic industrial emanations.  With India their main pollution problem is from their population's preference for cooking on open fires.  

Blind belief in government information can be dangerous.


----------



## farmerjan

In the 1970's there were predictions of a coming ice age.... I remember that.  You can google it and pull up newspaper after newspaper articles about it.  40 years later now we are on a climate warming trend that will burn us up in no time.  @Ridgetop  is right.... there have been constant ups and downs in temps long before any "industrial age"..... and it is also true that places like China and India.... considered to be "developing nations" for the express purpose to exempt them from all the "rules and regulations" that the "already developed"  nations have to follow.  BS.... they are contributing more than we do... we have cut our CO 2 emissions and now that we are supposed to be going all "green"... no one takes into account for all the output of the manufacturing process to produce solar panels and the windmills; polluting our atmosphere... for products that will not bio-degrade at the end of their life cycle... and that don't barely break even by the time they are worn out and need to be replaced.  

I like the idea of solar and wind.... but they are not practical for the majority of the population.... because the cost to make them outweighs the return on investment.... 
I want to see if there is a way to use wind power here on my new place.... but I want the old fashioned type windmill that is NOT made of fiberglass and all that... just good old fashioned metal and wood that can be recycled when it wears out.  At least you can burn the broken wood fins, and recycle the metal in the pipes, gears, framework.....


----------



## Alaskan

farmerjan said:


> for products that will not bio-degrade at the end of their life cycle..


That there....  that is what will kill the earth.

As to renewable energy, if you have a flowing stream,  that is the most efficient method.

But I loved the turnstile at Thomas Jefferson's house (isn't that the one?) Where the turnstile needs to be used to enter the yard, and it creates energy.

Some guy here in town had a regular truck, and he stuck a windmill in the bed of the truck,  that would turn and charge up batteries (also in the bed).

I assume he then used the batteries to power his house.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone. for your comments.

Regarding the how the earth's climate has changed, I have read numerous books about that.  I am by no means an expert.  It is simply that geology is a favorite topic of mine.  The reason I asked was that I got the impression based on the quotation that there were some scientists who believed that the current warming of the globe was caused ONLY by natural forces, not by humans at all.  In the past that certainly was true -- that humans' impact on the climate was practically non-existent.  But my own current (non-expert) opinion, based on all that I have read, is that the current warming is primarily human caused due to the build-up of carbon dioxide due to our mimicking what happened in the past during carbon dioxide build-ups.  Carbon dioxide build-up has occurred on the past due to natural causes, and the earth has always warmed up in response. Today is no different, except that the primary source of the carbon dioxide is from human activity rather than nature.

Regarding the countries responsible for carbon dioxide emissions, as of 2020, Chine is #1 (28%), the US is #2 (15%), India is #3 (7%).  (See https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/each-countrys-share-co2-emissions)

Miss @farmerjan, I well remember the forecasts in the 1970's of a new ice age coming soon (as in a decade or two, i.e., in the 1980s and 1990s).  Obviously they were wrong, or perhaps the causes of global cooling were swamped by the causes of global warming.

Thanks, again, for everyone's input.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## farmerjan

Thanks for the reference to the chart.


----------



## Bruce

Alaskan said:


> All of that DRASTIC change was way before the industrial revolution.
> 
> It is possible that humans are accelerating things, but drastic climate changes have always happened.





Ridgetop said:


> In any study of archeology you will find that climates have changed all over the world for thousands of years.



Yes but were those changes gradual or drastic/sudden? The Sahara desert was once a forest. I don't think it went to all desert in a human lifetime or two. 

I heard on NPR yesterday that the Amazon is no longer a CO2 absorber. Too much cut down ... by humans.

Maybe we need a big (but not TOO big) asteroid to smack the earth again and cool us off 

Given China is highly unlikely to "go green" anytime soon, nor will their population decline, we will see what measurements around the world do in the next decade or three.


----------



## Ridgetop

While I agree that* humans* are causing a lot of  pollution, I am getting very irate about the USA continually being blamed and shamed for our prosperity.  We have made enormous progress in cutting emissions and pollution yet are being told that we have to pay for everyone else's pollution problems.  I just think it is time for other countries to look to their own emissions and solve their own problems.  The world is looking to the USA to stop "climate change", world hunger, Covid, fight everyone's wars for them, etc. _*and also take responsibility for all these things that we have not caused*_.  And hating us because we have made the USA and our standard of living one of the best.  

I just think it is time we *appreciate* this wonderful country, *appreciate and be grateful* for living in a country where hard work will still allow you to get ahead, and STOP *APOLOGIZING TO THE REST OF THE WORLD FOR OUR COUNTRY BEING SO WONDERFUL!!!*

I LOVE THE USA AND AM GRATEFUL TO BE HERE.  DOES THAT MEAN THAT I WANT TO APOLOGIZE TO OTHERS FOR BEING AN AMERICAN?  NO, I AM JUST GRATEFUL TO BE AMERICAN.  I WSH OTHER AMERICANS FELT THE SAME INSTEAD OF FEELING THEY HAVE TO APOLOGIZE FOR BEING AMERICAN, WORKING HARD AND BEING SUCCESSFUL.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Wow!  Who can disagree with the above?  But while we are all feeling so proud, the planet continues to get warmer.  As best as I can tell, we humans are primarily the ones responsible.  To remind everyone here, the laws of physics are indifferent to what people think, say, wish.  They are indifferent to country of origin, whether a person is a MAGA fan, a BLM fan, a New England Patriots fan, or anything else.  They are indifferent to whether a person waves a US flag, a Chinese flag, an Indian flag, or any other flag.

What we have is a global tragedy of the commons.  (In case you are unaware of that concept, see here.) I am NOT pointing fingers at anyone. *I* contribute more to greenhouse gases than probably many or most people on this forum. Unlike Mr. @Bruce, who uses solar panels and and drives hybrid and all electric cars, thus leaving a small environmental footprint, I am wearing huge environmental combat boots! I drive a big F350 diesel that gets 15 MPG. I set my A/C thermostat to 72°F (22° C) in the summer. I burn propane for heat. I buy processed groceries, including meat, from the grocery store, who in turn gets those from corporate farms, a substantial source of greenhouse gases. So, no, I am not blaming anyone here. What I *am* trying to do is to continue to educate myself. That is why, Miss Ridgetop, I asked for the names of the scientists who say this is a normal weather pattern and by implication not climate change.  Now, can you provide me with those names?

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## farmerjan

Just my 2 cents.... I don't think that @Ridgetop was trying to put any blame on you.  I feel much the way she does, in that the USA has a whole squadron of people constantly on us for "doing more" and not taking their own responsibility.  Some of the worst are our own politicians.  And when you look at just the one example of Biden shutting down our Keystone Pipeline.... which would more efficiently transport fuel oil.... and then giving the okay to the Russians.... you have to admit that is pure hypocrisy.   We are shipping coal to China as fast as we can dig it;  and they are ON RECORD as building coal fired plants faster than a speeding bullet..... with FEW OR NONE of the controls that the US has on things like emissions.  
Whether you believe in the "saving of the planet" through things like solar and wind power.... and I do like the basics of it although the nitty gritty of what it takes to build the solar panels and life of them and then the waste left over.....is very distasteful the more I read about it....and the life of the windmill blades and things that cannot be recycled so are just dumped in landfills to NOT biodegrade..... we are not going to stop burning "fossil fuels" anytime soon.  So,  why not at least be the ones using them in the most modern efficient way possible.  
Yes, there are many more people than there were... not saying we don't contribute to the "global warming".... but this earth has gone through many many cycles of heating and cooling.... and there were a whole lot less people back then.  The latest article I saw somewhere not too long ago, made a comment about the sun actually might be going through a cycle of "cooling" and that it will cause our earth temps to drop. 
For every scientist there is a theory.... and most will never be proven.... just a hypothesis.......


----------



## Baymule

STA, I know you are not going to raise animals for meat. BUT you can find a small farmer or custom grower such as myself and buy half a steer, a hog or chicken slaughtered and packaged to your specifications for the freezer. 

I currently have 3 hogs scheduled for slaughter on August 17. I have 1 whole hog sold, plus 3 halves. Was going to split a hog between us and our DD and family, but sold a half, so now we will split a half between us. LOL  I feed them free feed pellets until 6-8 weeks before slaughter, then I switch to soured (using buttermilk) whole corn to finish them on. 

I raised a steer last winter, Goldie. He went to slaughter in March and we took half and DD and family took half. I have 2 customers wanting half a steer and will get one after the pigs go to slaughter. 

I raise Cornish Cross chickens every spring, for sale and for ours and DD's freezer. This past spring we sold 48 chickens, cut, vacuum sealed and frozen and put 25 in our own freezer for us and DD. I raise them in chicken tractors, moving their pen to fresh grass every day. I ferment the feed, using buttermilk, that puts the beneficial bacteria in their gut, they are healthier and the meat tastes better. 

I try to give my animals the best life possible. I feed them well, yes I grain feed and grain comes from a farm, big tractors, transported on 18 wheelers and all the associated environmental issues. But that is something I cannot grow in sufficient quantities. What I can do is grow things in the garden, rotate my pastures, and provide all the free choice hay they want. 

The animals I raise for meat are not standing in their own waste, they are not packed into small spaces in the name of efficiency. The steer was not in an open feed lot with no shelter, Goldie had a shelter and shade trees. I utilized the Pig Palace for him after the pigs went to slaughter. The pigs have shelter and shade trees and a large enough pen that they can have a potty corner. They don't want to wallow in their own waste any more than you do. This year I'm going to run a cross fence across the pipeline to give the steer I will raise, a little more room and some grass to graze. Grass fed beef is all the rage now, but it is tough to chew. My customers want grain finished for a more tender beef.

I've had to educate my customers. They have to order up to a year in advance from me and actually WAIT for their animals to grow. I've had to switch them from "I want it now and just enough for a week" to waiting for the animal to be raised for the months that it takes and buying a freezer to put it in. We are a very small operation, but have added 3 new customers this year. One lady bought 1 chicken. LOL She is single and has only the freezer on her refrigerator, so I packaged her one chicken in small packages, enough for a meal just for her. 

My point is, perhaps you can find a homesteader that is raising meat for their own family and get them to raise one for you. That's kinda how our meat sales have grown. Our object was to pay for what we consume, but it has grown to the point where we actually make a little money on it LOL. 

We have a F250 2004 diesel. We keep our thermostat set at 72 degrees and are all electric. I think many people are in the same boat, we do what we can but it does not mean that I want to live in abject poverty, hot, sweaty and miserable or cold and miserable. I raise a garden in addition to the meat I raise. When I come in at noon, soaked to my knees in sweat, I want the cooling AC and a shower. When I go out in minus degrees like I did this past winter in the freakish winter storms we had for a couple of weeks, I want to peel off the layers of every warm article of clothing that I own and have a warm house. 

I don't like it that his doublewide mobile home is so dependent upon electricity. No power=no heat, AC or lights. It takes about 20 minutes in the summer if power goes off to heat this place up to the point of us scurrying outa here like rats, seeking a cooler place to be. LOL I'm making noises about building a house, which to my poor husband, means that I WILL do it. But that's another subject. 

I agree with @Ridgetop I'm also tired of America bashing and am grateful to live in America.


----------



## Baymule

Windmill blades









						What should Texas do with its old wind turbine blades?
					

Old wind turbine blades are piling up in Sweetwater, Texas.




					spectrumlocalnews.com


----------



## Bruce

This part looks positive:
"Last year G.E. Renewable Energy, a division of General Electric, announced that it would begin recycling the blades by shredding them into raw material for use in cement manufacturing. In the Netherlands, one city turned the old blades into a playground. Cork, Ireland, is experimenting with using retired blades to construct bridges."



Larsen Poultry Ranch said:


> Water is back on, hopefully the fix lasts this time. Hubby installed a pressure regulator that brings it from about 160 pressure down to 50.


That should fix your leak problems  You don't really need or want 160 PSI anyway.



Baymule said:


> BUT you can find a small farmer or custom grower such as myself and buy half a steer, a hog or chicken slaughtered and packaged to your specifications for the freezer.


Good plan Bay. I buy my ground beef from a farming couple (in their 70's) and my non ground beef from another farm that does beef and veggies. They were a dairy farm for about the last 40 years. Both raise their animals humanely and in small quantities. I met these people at the farmer's market. Typically in the "off season" I'll go to their farms and buy a bunch of meat for my small freezer. Rib eyes tonight from Windfall Veggies and Beef and I'm NOT going to "chicken fry" them!!  Green beans from Bergeron's, mashed potatoes from the grocery store  Too early in the year for local potatoes. In the fall I get a 50# bag from the ground beef farmers.

The non homogenized milk I drink comes from the family owned grocery store but gets delivered a couple of times a week by the "milk maid"  Her farm is all of 3 cows 2 towns over. They are doing well, only had 2 cows last year


----------



## Baymule

Yes @Bruce you can opt out of the industrial food. I’m glad you have found small farmers to buy from.  My customers want to know how the meat they eat was raised and treated. They can come to the farm any time and see for themselves. They tell me that the meat I raise is better than anything they can buy at the store. I must be doing something right. 

There are no hog sewage lagoons on my property. There are no dried manure dust storms, nor deep manure mud. I am careful with my tiny ecosystem. I have several types of dung beetles that break up the manure, eat it, bury it and lay their eggs in it. I’m proud of those dung beetles, they do their lowly job and the environment benefits from them. My Pig Palace with 3 big hogs doesn’t even have a smell.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @farmerjan,

This is to continue the conversation started on Mr. @Bruce's journal, specifically this post here: https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/bruces-journal.34651/post-689556

You said that you typically get over 50,000 miles on a set of tires.  Having never owned a large (one ton) diesel truck before, I did not know what to expect regarding how long tires would last.  I had to replace the OEM tires at 34600 miles.  They had the following tread depth in 1/32" at replacement (L stands for left, R for right, F for front, I for rear inner, O for rear outer):  LF: 6, RF: 5, LO: 4, LI: 3, RI: 4, RO: 7.  I cannot remember if I had those tires rotated prior to replacement.  After replacing them, I don't think I rotated the new tires.

The business where I purchased the replacement tires also does alignment.  When I took the truck there, the owner said that diesel truck are so heavy in the front that cornering causes the front tires to wear quickly.  Yet you say that you get 50,000 miles out of your tires.  So I think I need to take your advice and have the alignment checked.

Thank you again for your comments.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

STA we buy tires from Discount Tire and buy the road hazard too. We take the truck, F250 2094 diesel, in every 3,000 miles to have the tires rotated. Sometimes there is warranty left on the tires when they  wear out, they prorate the cost of the tires and give us credit towards the new tires. There may be a Discount Tire near you, they are a good company to do business with.


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## farmerjan

I did not realize you had a dually truck.  They are way more expensive to maintain just because you have 2 more tires that you will never need.  You do not haul any heavy loads like we do... unless you have a big heavy camper trailer, you really do not need a dually and honestly, you are spending more money for fuel and everything than you will ever get use out of the truck.  We have 2,  4wd F-350's that are only single rear tires and they are what we haul 90% of our trailers with.  The only dually we have is also the newest truck... and it is only here because it was my father's and he wanted my DS to have it and sold it for below the book price.... he was never going to be able to drive it again... it is like a 2012 or 2016 or something... and it gets horrible mileage.... it is the "go to Sunday meeting " truck... DS won't take it off road, does not even go out in the flat hay fields... he used it to take the cattle to VT and go see my father a couple weeks ago... and fuel costs were well over $500.... totally ridiculous.  It is also the "fancy model"  King Ranch or something... I am not at all impressed and believe me, when I drove it to go up to my mom's funeral in June... it is not fun with road construction and tight lanes with 18 wheelers next to you.... I have no desire to drive it if I don't have to.  
He likes his 1999 F-350 better, it gets 16-18 around here and closer to 20 on the road even with a load... diesel.... and I  like the way it rides and handles better.  I mostly prefer the 1997(?) F-250 supercab that we pull the cattle trailer with most all the time... only gets about 14 with the trailer... but the trailer is mostly loaded.... and it pulls 8-10,000 lbs of cattle plus trailer weight without a second thought.  

I think that you would be better served by a slightly "lighter" truck.... and honestly unless you are pulling a big recreational trailer, you really don't need the dually or the extra expense of the tires. 

Rotating the tires is important with those big trucks too.... but I would definitely have the alignment done to make sure.... 

And how is the water situation?  Got all the problems finally fixed and everything going all right?  
Are you getting rain out there?  How was the hay situation with the guy who makes it?   See any more "wild hogs"???  Did you ever do anything with the generator situation?  Doing any more clearing through the woods?  Is the pond holding up with the heat and dryness?
Guess I am being nosy... Just wondered how things were this year.


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## Baymule

My son has a 2019 F350 King Ranch dually. He bought a new RV trailer and needed the extra OOMPH to pull it. He used his older truck for all his running around until he rolled it a month ago. He lamented the death of the old truck, wishing it was the new one. LOL


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## Alaskan

Our plow truck is a huge dually...   not dawning on me how often it needs new tires...

But it is most definitely not a commuter.

It handles our huge super heavy V plow, and tows whatever we need towed...

I do think the double tires in the back are a little more gentle on our very poor gravel drive 

But uh.... as I have stated elsewhere we have busted the frame....  so its days as a plow truck are done.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Baymule said:


> STA we buy tires from Discount Tire and buy the road hazard too. We take the truck, F250 2094 diesel, in every 3,000 miles to have the tires rotated. Sometimes there is warranty left on the tires when they wear out, they prorate the cost of the tires and give us credit towards the new tires. There may be a Discount Tire near you, they are a good company to do business with.



I did business with Discount Tire while residing in McKinney and bought several sets of tires from them.  I agree that they are a good company.  But the nearest one to us here in western Arkansas is in Fort Smith, which is about 40 miles away.  So I decided to buy locally this time.  Maybe the brand I bought here is not as good as I could get at Discount Tire.

As to how I came to own an F350 dually diesel: earlier in 2017, after deciding to retire at the end of September of that year, my Beautiful Gal and I decided to go RVing full-time.  We watched a lot of RV YouTube channels, both for those who owned class A RVs (think big Winnebagos) and those who owned other types, including 5th wheels.  After what we saw, I decided we would buy a big 5th wheel, as in one 40-45 feet long.  And I wanted a truck that would pull that large a trailer without giving me any problems.  So in August 2017 I traded in a 2005 Ford F150 King Ranch that I had inherited from my dad (I kick myself every time I think of having gotten rid of that truck -- it only had 50,000 miles on it and was in really great shape).

When I retired at the end of September 2017, we moved out of the house and put the house on the market, moving into a small house on my younger sister's place out in the country while we waited for the house to sell.  The house was slow to sell, so my Beautiful Gal and I had plenty of time to rethink our commitment to going RVing.  After watching more RV YouTube channels, we decided that full-time RVing was not for us.  So ever since that time we have owned a big honking truck that we have not needed (except for only a few occasions), and incurring the expense of ownership.  But it is paid for and I am slow to do anything about selling it.



farmerjan said:


> And how is the water situation? Got all the problems finally fixed and everything going all right?
> Are you getting rain out there? How was the hay situation with the guy who makes it? See any more "wild hogs"??? Did you ever do anything with the generator situation? Doing any more clearing through the woods? Is the pond holding up with the heat and dryness?
> Guess I am being nosy... Just wondered how things were this year.



Thank you for asking, Miss @farmerjan!  I don't think you are being nosy - I appreciate your curiosity.  I plan to go into detail on what has happened since mid-January once I get caught up on everyone's journals, and I seem to be taking longer at that than I think it should.  Having said that, here is a summary of what has happened.

We have had fairly cool and wet spring and early summer.  It didn't get above 90 until in mid-June, which is unusual for here.  And we have had only a couple of 100+°F days since.  So overall, not too bad.  We have had plenty of rain, so ponds are fairly full.  The hay baling guy is getting good (not great) production this year.  Neither he nor I have fertilized the pastures, so that is not surprising, I reckon.

The water line started leaking again in February.  I rented a mini-excavator again, and again the leaks kept growing.  Finally I decided to hire a plumbing company to make the repairs.  I am glad I did.  It turned out that the plumbing guy resides on the ridge overlooking our house.  He got rid of the PVC piping I was using and used a long roll of PEX tubing.  He repaired it in such a way that I think that I will no longer have any problems with the water line in that area.  (Of course, the water line could still decide to break some other place.)  

I have had numerous problems with my new tractor.  I intend to detail that later.  I just wish I had my old New Holland tractor back and the money I paid for the new tractor in the bank.

More later.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

Well, I fully understand why you got the truck since your goal was a big fifth wheel.  That is why my father got his... they had a big trailer and did use it some but it sat alot too.  My mom's health declined alot faster after he retired... which he kept saying he was going to do and SHOULD HAVE DONE sooner than he did....but that is another situation.... but he had the truck and trailer and then when she started to really get the dementia... then he had the stroke 2 years ago and she was past being able to go anywhere... so he made the decision to sell the trailer and truck... Was going to try to sell them together, but someone wanted the trailer so then he offered the truck to my DS... and he felt a little obligated to buy it at the price.... I think he now wished he didn't have it.  But that is because he just finally closed on the "home farm"  the one where we have all the barns and facilities that we have been renting from the friend's widow for several years.... and the payments are going to be a little tough... BUT.... if we didn't get the farm we would have had to totally change our operation and go back to just a small, hobby type.... and everything would have been difficult with no facilities to move cattle to and work them through the barn/chute/facilities.... that is why we got bigger... to be able to utilize this place when our friend got cancer and then passed away.... we did all his work for the last 2 years when he was getting worse;  then rented it .... then she decided to sell it instead of selling her house... which she wanted to do but she wanted too much and it wasn't selling and he left her with a mortgage on it so she wanted to get out from under and her kids would never be able to even buy a part of it...

Anyway, that truck is not necessary to us and I think he is having some 2nd thoughts.... it might go up for sale at some point.... but he is not inclined to do it soon since my dad sold it to him... family dynamics you know....

Sooooo, too bad you sold the other one.. but I get the reasoning...and it is done and over...maybe start looking for a smaller one... a good newer used one....

Sorry the tractor is not working out like you wanted... seems like there is always something....
Glad you have not been suffering with he//acious hot temps either... 
We are just praying for some real decent soaking rain here... we are in a moderate to severe drought in this part of Va... east is getting some rain, the coast is wet..... but it goes around or we got "pop up" rain that drops  a tenth to 2 inches all according and is very spotty.....
You take it as it comes...


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## Ridgetop

farmerjan said:


> He likes his 1999 F-350 better, it gets 16-18 around here and closer to 20 on the road even with a load... diesel.... and I like the way it rides and handles better.


We have a 1999 (first year of new body style) F 350 diesel as well.  We also love it.  Almost 300,000 miles and still purring along.  We do have the dual rear wheels though. When we were ordering it the person we were buying a 12' Lance camper from told us that his friend had rolled _*two*_ single rear wheel trucks and campers while towing a boat.  

One thing about tires DH says the tires they are making now are not wearing as well as the tires they made 10 years ago.  He used to get a lot of miles on the older tires but now he is having to replace them sooner.  Even with frequent alignments.

About the duals - Since I was going to be driving up and down the state hauling our kids, the camper, and a 16' stock trailer full of dairy goats, as well as other livestock, we looked at each other and changed the order to duals.  The thought of blood and guts spread over the highway did not appeal to me.  I was doubly glad when, before we picked up the new truck, I was driving home from Riverside with a friend whose goat we had just taken to the breeder and passed a truck and horse trailer on its side with the horse still inside it.  Luckily only one horse in the 2 horse trailer and it was still alive.  The police, ambulance, and wrecker were there with the owner (freaking out).  I think they were waiting for the vet to come and tranq the horse (who was not a happy passenger) so they could pull it out of the trailer before trying to get the trailer and truck upright.  I just kept thinking that the duals would give us more stability on the road.  

We eventually bought a 30' 5th wheel trailer and have had rear tires blow out without any problems.  So although it eats a bit ore gas than the single rear wheel, the 1999 diesel still gets pretty good gas mieage  We get between 10 and 212 miles hauling the 5th wheel.  I got 12-14 mpg with the camper and stock trailer.  We get 14 mpg easily without a load around town and can get up to 16 on highway miles.


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## Alaskan

Ridgetop said:


> We have a 1999 (first year of new body style) F 350 diesel as well.  We also love it.  Almost 300,000 miles and still purring along.  We do have the dual rear wheels though. When we were ordering it the person we were buying a 12' Lance camper from told us that his friend had rolled _*two*_ single rear wheel trucks and campers while towing a boat.
> 
> One thing about tires DH says the tires they are making now are not wearing as well as the tires they made 10 years ago.  He used to get a lot of miles on the older tires but now he is having to replace them sooner.  Even with frequent alignments.
> 
> About the duals - Since I was going to be driving up and down the state hauling our kids, the camper, and a 16' stock trailer full of dairy goats, as well as other livestock, we looked at each other and changed the order to duals.  The thought of blood and guts spread over the highway did not appeal to me.  I was doubly glad when, before we picked up the new truck, I was driving home from Riverside with a friend whose goat we had just taken to the breeder and passed a truck and horse trailer on its side with the horse still inside it.  Luckily only one horse in the 2 horse trailer and it was still alive.  The police, ambulance, and wrecker were there with the owner (freaking out).  I think they were waiting for the vet to come and tranq the horse (who was not a happy passenger) so they could pull it out of the trailer before trying to get the trailer and truck upright.  I just kept thinking that the duals would give us more stability on the road.
> 
> We eventually bought a 30' 5th wheel trailer and have had rear tires blow out without any problems.  So although it eats a bit ore gas than the single rear wheel, the 1999 diesel still gets pretty good gas mieage  We get between 10 and 212 miles hauling the 5th wheel.  I got 12-14 mpg with the camper and stock trailer.  We get 14 mpg easily without a load around town and can get up to 16 on highway miles.


That is true....  about stability. 

Good points.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> once I get caught up on everyone's journals, and I seem to be taking longer at that than I think it should.


It would be easier if we would all stop posting on our journals 



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I have had numerous problems with my new tractor. I intend to detail that later. I just wish I had my old New Holland tractor back and the money I paid for the new tractor in the bank.


I am very sad to hear that. I assume the problems are covered under warranty? One good thing about that 350, you don't need to pay the dealer to transport the tractor 

Too bad the 350 isn't likely worth more than a "useful size truck for you" at this point. Seems like it might make sense to sell it to someone who needs it and save yourself the extra expense of tires and fuel. 



Ridgetop said:


> We get between 10 and 212 miles hauling the 5th wheel.


That is AMAZING? Must be you sometimes start at the top of a mountain 

My sister had a big old Suburban to tow a large travel trailer. She said it got 12-14 MPG whether they had the trailer on it or not.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> I am very sad to hear that. I assume the problems are covered under warranty? One good thing about that 350, you don't need to pay the dealer to transport the tractor



Most though not all of the problems have been covered under warranty.  But getting the tractor to/from the dealership has been a real pain, and I have had to take it to them at least 5 times (and probably more).  Yes, the F350 can easily tow the tractor.  The problem is that I do not have a trailer wide enough to haul the tractor on.  I bought the trailer I have early after moving to Arkansas.  It has rails along the side.  It is plenty wide to haul a zero-turn mower, and to haul the John Deere Gator when we bought it in eastern Oklahoma. It was wide enough to haul my New Holland TC48DA when I had to take it to the New Holland dealer in Alma (about 45 miles away).  But it is about 3" too narrow to haul the Kioti RX-7320.  So when I get the tractor serviced at the dealer, I have to drive the tractor to the dealer (about 6 miles away) and then they have to bring me home. Then when the tractor is ready, they will come pick me up and I will drive the tractor home.

The last time I had the tractor serviced a couple of weeks ago was when the A/C line busted.  I took the tractor in on a Monday and they had to order a part, which they said would arrive by Friday of the same week.  I had ordered a gazebo which was scheduled to arrive via truck on Wednesday of the following week.  The gazebo was heavy and bulky enough that I would need my tractor to use the pallet forks to handle the gazebo.

The A/C line part did not arrive until Tuesday morning when they were able to get it installed.  But they did not have anyone there to come pick me up.  So I drove the John Deere Gator to the dealership, left it there and drove the tractor home.  After getting home, I hooked up the trailer to the truck and went back and got the Gator and came home.

All of you may be asking why I don't simply get a trailer big enough to haul the tractor.  Well, the biggest objection is the trailers that are big enough to haul my tractor cost at least $5000. While that is pocket change for many of you, for me it is in the OUCH! range.  So I have endured the frustration of getting the tractor serviced, and that frustration is part of my resentment at the tractor needing servicing so much.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Sorry for the long post, but I need some advice and need to describe the situation.

I am having problems with a medical firm here in our town.  Both my wife and I have dealt with this medical firm several times in the past and expect to continue to do so in the future.  The problem I am having, though, is that I made payment of $500 on my wife's account June 5, which is more than what we owed but I knew we would be continue to get treatment and thus incur more expenses, so paying extra I thought was OK.  I used electronic bill pay offered by our bank.

In late June this medical firm billed us for more expenses and failed to show that we had paid the $500 on June 5.  So in early July I called the toll free number on the bill.  The lady I talked with said that she did not show in her records of the medical firm having received the payment.  She recommended that I go to the local office where we go for treatment and talk to a business representative there.  So I did so, taking with me a copy of our bank statement showing where we had made two payments, one for which they had records, and the $500 for which they did not.  The local business person asked for a copy of a cancelled check.  Because I used electronic payment I had no cancelled check, just the bank statement.  The business person made copies of the bank statement and said that she would forward them to the folks in the financial department.

After waiting a week to give the documents time enough to get to the "right person", I went back to see if the medical business agreed that we had made the payments.  The local business person said that the higher-ups wanted a copy of a cancelled check.  After telling her again that I had no cancelled check because I paid electronically, I decided to go to my bank to talk to someone there to see if the bank could provide me with something more formal and hopefully convincing.  She gave me two pages of impressive looking details, a few of which I understood (like "ACH" - Automated Clearing House), most of which I did not.  She also signed her name to the pages and said that anyone at the medical firm could contact her.  I then took a copy of the pages to the medical firm, who sent them to the firm's accounting/billing department.

After waiting another week, I decided to talk to the medical firm's local business office person again.  She said that the person handling the case had been on vacation but would look into it "soon".  I waited another week, this time calling the local business person instead of visiting in person.  She said that the higher up needed the phone number of the person at the bank.   I provided that to her, who in turn provided it to the higher up. After waiting a couple of more days, this past week I visited the local business person again. This time she said that the higher-up person had talked to the lady in the bank and reported that the lady in the bank admitted that the problem lay with a third company (which I will call a disbursing company) which the bank employs to disburse the funds to recipients like the medical firm whenever electronic payments are made. I took the business person at her word and decided to pay our balance -- *writing a personal check this time*. 

When I got home I decided to call the lady at the bank and ask about the disbursing company and when I can get the $500 put back in my account.  She said that while she had indeed talked to someone at the medical firm, she did NOT agree with the statement that the problem lay with the bank nor with the disbursing company.  Ugh!  So on Friday I contacted the local business person again, telling her what the lady at the bank said.  She provided me with the names and contact info of her immediate supervisor, and of that person's supervisor, who is the one who said that the bank admitted that the error was with them.  That is where things are at the moment.

So I am asking for what you folks think I should do.  I have considered hiring an attorney, but I am reluctant to go that route, as (1) $500 is small potatoes to an attorney, and (2) even if I could find someone who would take the case, once he contacted the medical firm and the bank, these two would probably refuse to discuss the situation with me any more, insisting that they would have their legal departments deal with my attorney, resulting in even more delay.  Plus, both the medical firm and the bank have deeper pockets than I do to pay legal fees, so they could drag it out.

But there has to be some regulatory agency or agencies that I could approach to ask them to get involved. The bank is a national bank, so it is covered by federal laws and regulations.  That means that the FDIC regulates some of their actions.  And the medical firm does business in multiple states, although they may have a legal structure such that each local business is its own legal entity, meaning that state law would cover it instead of federal law.  But I believe there must be SOME law enforcement or regulatory agency which I can approach to ask them to look into the matter.

Comments?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

When you paid it electronically, there should have been some sort of screen that came up on your computer that had an authorization number on it.  I always write down that authorization number on something that I file in my "paid bills" pile.  Most places will also send you an e-mail that confirms the payment.  Is there any chance you could go back through your e-mails and see if by chance you have one? 
I don't think at this point a lawyer is practical since there is still "discussions" ongoing..... no one is disputing that a payment has been made... just no one is showing it right?  I mean the bank has it down as having been made...
NOW is there any possibility that the payment went into a different account????? The bank lady should be able to trace exactly what and where the "disbursing company"  did with it.... or if not than the disbursing company that the bank uses, should have to answer to the bank.  I think that that is where the breakdown is.... UNLESS the bank and disbursing company can both show where it was paid.... then it is with the medical company.  And then I am not sure of your next move.... I would think that the bank might want to get a little more forceful with the medical company. 

I pay most of my bills on line, even my mtg... and I keep a record of every transaction number written down...

Just a thought, but can't your wife follow you when you have to take the tractor in and pick you up that way?  I know you said she does not like to drive the truck, but only 6 miles just to the dealership?????


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch

Is there a way you can go to the bank and have a conference call with both the bank person and the medical company person at the same time? 

Failing that, can the bank reverse the ACH and then you can write a check instead?

That is very frustrating and poor customer service that it's taking this long to get resolved. Maybe let the medical company know you are going to write a letter to the BBB regarding this situation and their response/lack of action. Sometimes that threat will help light a fire under their behind.


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## farmerjan

I like the idea @Larsen Poultry Ranch of writing to the BBB....


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## Baymule

How frustrating! You paid the bill, but now it's floating around in cyberspace and no onw wants to 'fess up as to what happened to it.


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## Ridgetop

Bruce said:


> That is AMAZING? Must be you sometimes start at the top of a mountain
> 
> My sister had a big old Suburban to tow a large travel trailer. She said it got 12-14 MPG whether they had the trailer on it or not.


Sorry - typo - *10-12* mpg  I certainly wish we got 212 mpg!


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## Ridgetop

DH likes doing stuff on line but I think our bank sends out a paper check of some sort instead of it going straight into their bank.  I am not sure.  I prefer writing paper checks, BUT a lot of banks no longer send you the cancelled checks and if the problem arises later down the line, you have to request a copy of the check from the bank which often takes forever to supply if t ever does.

While you do not want to hire an attorney,  you can take steps in Small Claims Court.   Small Claims court normally does not allow representation by attorneys.  

There should be a transaction number on the check or on line read out that shows where the check went.  To what account, and bank, etc.  If you have that information from the bank, first I would write a letter to the medic facility, the 2 supervisors at the head office, the medical billing department, and everyone else you have talked to.  You can send copies to everyone of the same letter.  This should not be an email, but a real paper letter.  Send it Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested.  This will cost a couple dollars for each letter, but you want proof that the letter was received by the addressees.  The letter should demand the return of your $500.  This letter constitutes a demand for restitution.  Their failure to respond or return the money constitutes a refusal to pay the debt.

In the letter state what you did originally, the date on which you paid "in advance", the amount paid, the transaction number, the date the transaction was received by their company, that transaction number, etc.  Then identify all the steps you took to resolve this, identify each person to whom you spoke by name and title if known, what was said to you by each person, and what the result was.  Give the addressees a time period by which you expect a response.  

This is a lot to do but you want to set up a case for you receiving your $500 back.  If you do not receive a satisfactory response within the time period you set, file a Small Claims Action against the medical company.  Be sure to add "et al." after the names of all defendants which should include their payment receivers, bank, and the company.  By adding "et al." you include in the lawsuit as defendants anyone whom you have not been able to identify yet.   When you file, you will claim money damages not only for the $500 which has mysteriously disappeared into their coffers, but also for additional money for your time and trouble going to court and running around trying to get the documents, etc., costs of obtaining all the information, copying costs, mailing costs (Certified Mail and RRR), filing cost and service costs of the complaint. You can also ask for additional money for "bad faith" by the insurance company.  Ask up to the amount allowed in a Small Claims action.  The judge will decide how much you will get.  *This is the reason you want to itemize everything that was done and said between yourself, the bank, and the company with names and dates.  *All the documentation should be copied (2 copies) so you can give a copy of everything to the judge when you go to Small Claims court and hand a copy to the person representing the medical company.  If the medical company turn this over to their insurance company, they will return your $500 just to avoid a "nuisance" suit.  Otherwise, the judge will probably give you the $500 judgement, and probably most of the additional costs you will itemize.    

I don't know if this will help yo get your money back, and I am not an attorney, but I have gone to Small Claims Court and won my claim.  Just be sure you have all the documentation to give the judge.   

What a hassle for you.  And it is a shame your tractor is not working out the way you hoped.  DS3 has a Kyoti tractor also.  I don't think he has had many problems with it, but with your problems I will cross Kyoti off our eventual tractor list.

Can you see if you can trade in your smaller trailer on a larger trailer?  If the trade in value is high enough is would certainly lower the $5,000 trailer cost to a possible affordable cost.


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## farmerjan

Agree with @Ridgetop  on the possible trade in of the smaller trailer.... used  "everything" is bringing more money now than ever imagined.... it might be worth your time on an already planned trip into town to see about it.  

I think her advice on the whole medical payment situation is very good.  I have never had to go that route so don't know the steps.  But I have also learned to make sure that I document every thing and with transaction numbers and all.  
If you read my thread about the real estate taxes screwup.... and if not for the previous owner of this house and his paying of his taxes and figuring out there was a screwup... I would have been held liable for the wrong taxes being paid and had to pay a penalty and all that.  I called and documented everything... and the banker was the one that found out about the screwup in the actual deed with the plat numbers.... and all that.  Because I had no idea of that sort of stuff.... and no way to know what i was looking at and what was right or not.  I sure learned in a hurry.  And has made me more determined than ever to get the taxes and insurance taken off my payment and not put into escrow like I had to do with the initial mortgage.  They said I could revisit it after I was making the payment for at least a year.... and I intend to push the issue so that I can pay it myself and not depend on anyone else.  I have a separate checking account that I put money into to just pay the mortgage.... and would keep it to pay the mortgage, taxes and insurance on the house...but I want to control the payments.... not the mtg company having the escrow account.  Checking account is free, no service charges...so it is dedicated to just that.   My "normal" checking account, at my credit union, pays interest... so I want to keep the money in that account as much and as long as I can to earn what little interest=free money that I can.   That is my plan....


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Thanks, everyone, for all of your ideas.  My current plan is to talk to my bank's branch manager and see what they can do with the disbursing company.  After all, the disbursing company may be slow to respond to the lady at the bank who is currently helping me because she is a low-ranking employee.  But maybe the branch manager can get a quicker response from the disbursing company.

Regarding the Kioti, please don't let my experience scare you away from the brand.  Kapper Outdoors (YouTube channel) has the same model of Kioti, RX-7320, as I do.  He bought his about 2 weeks before I did, and he has not had any problems with his in the year he has owned it.

I would encourage anyone considering buying a Kioti that they make sure that everything fits the way they want it to fit.  In fact, while I may go into greater detail in a later post, here is my biggest gripe I have with the tractor: the front end loader (FEL) and the way that the face plate of the quick attach tilts.  The FEL face plate tilts downward more than my New Holland did.  The bucket on the Kioti is made in such a way that it is level when the face plate is half way between fully curled up and fully dumped down.  Whenever I attach something else, such as my grapple, my pallet forks, my tree shear (*), etc., it tilts downward about 30°.  I then must use a good portion of the range of the curl to make the attachment level.  Usually this is not a big deal but sometimes it is.  For example, I can no longer reach as high with my tree shear to cut limbs as I could with my New Holland.  And since the Kioti's FEL is self leveling, then raising up the FEL does not change the pitch of the attachment.  Sometimes this is good, such as when I have a load on my pallet forks and want to raise or lower the FEL, the pallet forks stay level during movement.  But if I want to reach up high with my tree shear, then having a self-leveling feature hurts using it.  Because of the lower reach I have quit using my tree shear, since I can use a pole saw about as easily.

Senile Texas Aggie

(*) The tree shear I have is the one I bought from Tractor Mike after he demonstrated it on his YouTube channel.  I used the tree shear a good bit when I had my New Holland but hardly any now with my Kioti.  You can see the tree shear at this link: https://asktractormike.com/product/hy-reach-mini-clip-tree-shear/


----------



## Ridgetop

I don't think DS3 has had any problems yet with his Kioti.  He has all the attachments from his Farmall and uses the on the Kioti.   DH will be getting expert advice from BJ when buying his tractor in Texas.  Baymule and I will keep hold of the check book just in case they get too excited! 

BTW we watched "Clarkson's Farm" as recommended by MikeCHS.  The first episode is about buying a tractor.  If you can get it on Prime be sure to watch it!  He buys a Lamborghini tractor that is enormous!  He boasts that it has 40 forward speeds and 40 reverse speeds as well as more buttons and switches than you can ever figure out.  It won't fit in the barn.  When the experienced farm people he calls out to help him ask why he bought such a massive machine he says "But it's a _*Lamborghini*_!"  

It also has the wrong hitch for his British attachments since he ordered it from Germany!     Then he has to buy all the implements he will need to work his farm.  When an experienced farmer asks him what seed drill he bought he says "It's a red one - or maybe orange,  orangey-red?"      Oh yes, and the instructions are  all in German and French!  

In the next episode he goes into "sheeping".   Can't wait to watch more.  Thanks Mike for recommending this show to us.  Too funny!


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> when I get the tractor serviced at the dealer, I have to drive the tractor to the dealer (about 6 miles away)


At least it is driving distance. My dealer is 25-30 miles away so if the machine needs work I have to pay for them to transport it.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Well, the biggest objection is the trailers that are big enough to haul my tractor cost at least $5000.


You can drive 6 miles one way a LOT of times for $5000! Maybe you could tow the Gator with the tractor, in neutral of course.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> but I need some advice and need to describe the situation.


    



farmerjan said:


> I don't think at this point a lawyer is practical


Not at the prices they charge, that $500 would be spent before the lawyer finished contacting all the parties involved. 



Larsen Poultry Ranch said:


> Failing that, can the bank reverse the ACH and then you can write a check instead?


He tried that. 

I like Ridgetop's suggestions, I've not had to deal with a similar situation but she's got a solid sounding plan.



Ridgetop said:


> but I think our bank sends out a paper check of some sort instead of it going straight into their bank.


My credit union usually does "bank to bank" transfers though one monthly repeating payment does go out as a check.



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> And since the Kioti's FEL is self leveling,


Which is your problem as Tractor Time with Tim has determined. Apparently self levelling is great .... only when using pallet forks. Too bad they can't be self levelling only when you want them to be.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Which is your problem as Tractor Time with Tim has determined. Apparently self levelling is great .... only when using pallet forks.



Mr. @Bruce, do you remember which of his videos discussed self leveling FELs?  I don't often watch Tractor Tim with Tim, so I have not seen it.

Also, when you put in an electrical power post for your Leaf, did you describe in detail how you did it?  I remember reading about it on your journal, but I don't remember how much detail you provided.  I ask because we had poured a 20'x20' patio and we installed on the patio a 11'x11' gazebo.  (I plan to document what we did later.)  But now we need electrical power to the gazebo.  Currently we are running an extension cord to the gazebo, but that is not very workable whenever it rains.  I am considering running an underground electrical line inside conduit to the patio but would like to read and watch descriptions of it being done.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Ridgetop

Underground is the way to go.  Be sure to use the correct heavy gray PVC conduit for electrical lines.


----------



## Grizzlyhackle

Ridgetop said:


> I don't think DS3 has had any problems yet with his Kioti.  He has all the attachments from his Farmall and uses the on the Kioti.   DH will be getting expert advice from BJ when buying his tractor in Texas.  Baymule and I will keep hold of the check book just in case they get too excited!
> 
> BTW we watched "Clarkson's Farm" as recommended by MikeCHS.  The first episode is about buying a tractor.  If you can get it on Prime be sure to watch it!  He buys a Lamborghini tractor that is enormous!  He boasts that it has 40 forward speeds and 40 reverse speeds as well as more buttons and switches than you can ever figure out.  It won't fit in the barn.  When the experienced farm people he calls out to help him ask why he bought such a massive machine he says "But it's a _*Lamborghini*_!"
> 
> It also has the wrong hitch for his British attachments since he ordered it from Germany!     Then he has to buy all the implements he will need to work his farm.  When an experienced farmer asks him what seed drill he bought he says "It's a red one - or maybe orange,  orangey-red?"      Oh yes, and the instructions are  all in German and French!
> 
> In the next episode he goes into "sheeping".   Can't wait to watch more.  Thanks Mike for recommending this show to us.  Too funny!


I've watched the whole season it keeps getting better. Thought about watching again from the beginning. Shows definitely a riot.


----------



## Ridgetop

I like to see mistakes we made starting out and mistakes I will not make in future having seen his experiences!


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Mr. @Bruce, do you remember which of his videos discussed self leveling FELs? I don't often watch Tractor Tim with Tim, so I have not seen it.







He's mentioned it more recently as well



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Also, when you put in an electrical power post for your Leaf, did you describe in detail how you did it? I remember reading about it on your journal, but I don't remember how much detail you provided.


Heck if I remember! I think I did put in a fair amount of info. That would be back in August or September.

Short review.

Dig a trench with your backhoe (which I don't think you have  ). MINIMUM 18" deep for ELECTRICAL conduit, do NOT use regular PVC pipe. They do make direct bury wire but I wanted more protection. 
I used 6 gauge wire due to the distance (80') and Amp draw. You wouldn't need anything that big for normal 120V use. But check the charts for wire size and distance so you don't get voltage drop. 
I ran the wire through the conduit prior to gluing the conduit connections. 6 gauge wire isn't all that flexible!! which is why I went with individual conductors in the conduit. If you can do 12 gauge you probably don't need individual conductors and can run directly to the service panel from the outlet at the gazebo. 
They make 90° fittings that open on the back for running the wire into the house.
May not be as important there but you might want a frost sleeve where the wire goes down and comes up from underground. 
I ran the individual 6 gauge wires to a junction box in the crawl space and connected a 3 wire (no common) 6 gauge from there to the service panel.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, Mr. @Bruce, for the video post by Tractor Time with Tim.  I watched that one and the ones following it that discussed self leveling loaders.  A lot of what he described definitely fit my experience.

Thanks to you and Miss @Ridgetop for your inputs on installing underground electrical lines.  I am watching several YouTube videos on installing underground electrical power lines and hope to get started soon.  We are starting a period of several hot days in a row -- upper 90s °F (upper 30s °C) -- so I may wait for cooler weather.

The fun dispute with the medical company and the bank continues.  I am now awaiting for a copy of a cancelled check from the disbursement company the bank uses to pay out funds.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

Although a royal PITA to you... at least there is some movement on the medical company/bank situation.  As long as someone is still working on it, that is in your favor.   And a copy of a cancelled check is a wonderful "paper trail".....


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> We are starting a period of several hot days in a row -- upper 90s °F (upper 30s °C) -- so I may wait for cooler weather.


EXCELLENT CHOICE!!!!

Medical insurance issues, PITA!!!! Got a call from my optometrist office Thursday week before last ... on my cell phone which gets little to no signal at home so I didn't get it until Saturday. Short version - both Medicare and Federal Blue Cross (DW) decided they were primary and both paid as primary. This is for an appointment March 30. Office insurance lady kept trying to get them to figure it out, calling both since EVENTUALLY one of them will want some money back. She finally got fed up and called me. I called BCBS, they said that since DW was an active employee they were primary. Called Medicare, they said they got it figured out and had made an adjustment 5 days before. Meaning the day I was called from the optometrist. 

Won't be a problem in the future since I got on BCBS Advantage April 1 so no more deduction from DW's paycheck.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @farmerjan,

My Beautiful Gal is always telling me that I am in need of professional help, and I hope you are the professional to help me.  

My southern most pastures, which are not hayed, are really thick and tall.  Except for narrow paths from the entrance to the pond and around the boundaries, I have not cut the grass there at all this year (I will explain why below).  Yesterday I decided to cut the grass around a brush pile.  The grass is so thick that the cut grass completely covered the grass still in the ground.  I fear that the cut grass will kill the grass still in the ground by blocking the light.  I certainly don't want that to happen.  I am wondering if there is a better way to cut the grass, such as cutting less of the grass (i.e., cutting the grass taller), and wait a week or so before cutting again.  Another thought was to wait until the first frost kills the grass and cut it then, when there will be less moisture in the grass and thus easier to cut.  What is you advice on how to cut this grass?

Also, how would you advise I get ruts out of the pasture that I made last year when I mowed those same pastures?  I made those ruts by mowing those pastures prior to their having dried out after all of the winter and spring rains.  I had hoped that this year the ruts would have somehow filled themselves in, but they are still there.  The reason that the grass in those pastures is so tall is that we had a lot of rain this year all the way into June.  Because the pastures were still wet, I did not want to mow them and make more ruts, but by the time the pastures had dried out in early July, I had a bunch of "honey-do"s.  Only now do I have time to mow and try to remove the ruts I made last year.  What do recommend I do to get the ruts out of the pastures?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

I'm not Jan but I think there are 2 ways to fill the ruts

bring in dirt
churn the area with a rototiller to loosen it back up


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## Ridgetop

Jan will know what to do!  With the hay shortage that is coming (and already here in some parts of the country) it is too bad that you couldn't offer the pasture grass to a cowman who needs it.


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## farmerjan

@Bruce 's 2 options are about right.  either fill in the ruts and then seed and even run a roller over them... or lightly till or disc and then rake with like a spring tooth harrow and plan to stay off so it can grow and the ground settle.  Rolling with a "roller"... like they use on pavement...they make them to pull behind tractors;  something heavy and round... to pretty much press the soil down and settle the grass seed in it.  Or driving over it once flattened with something that will not dig down... so if it is wet then stay off it....


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

farmerjan said:


> @Bruce 's 2 options are about right. either fill in the ruts and then seed and even run a roller over them... or lightly till or disc and then rake with like a spring tooth harrow and plan to stay off so it can grow and the ground settle. Rolling with a "roller"... like they use on pavement...they make them to pull behind tractors; something heavy and round... to pretty much press the soil down and settle the grass seed in it. Or driving over it once flattened with something that will not dig down... so if it is wet then stay off it....



Thanks.  There is plenty of grass growing in the rutted area.  I do not have a tiller.  Instead I have a box blade and I am considering deploying the scarifiers as far down as I can and then drag those scarifiers across the ruts, keeping the blade above the soil so as not to actually cut a path.  Just let the scarifiers remove the edges.



Ridgetop said:


> Jan will know what to do! With the hay shortage that is coming (and already here in some parts of the country) it is too bad that you couldn't offer the pasture grass to a cowman who needs it.



Yes, it is a shame!  That grass goes to waste every year.  Every year I cut it, either once or twice a year, and it goes back into the ground.  That could go to feed some farmer's or rancher's cows or sheep or goats or alpacas!  But the profit margin for hay is so low that I would be 100 before I could recoup my costs for farm equipment to mow it, ted it, rake it, bale it, and haul it.  So I simply mow it and let it decompose and make the next year's grass grow.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

I think that the box blade thing will work... gow with the ruts to loosen then up, then maybe go against them...90 degree.... then go with again.  But if the grass is already growing and all, you may have to wait for the frost so that the growth won't impede it... I would try it though... you won't make them worse if it doesn't break up the ground.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, so I thought I would post some news.

First, I got the dispute with the bank and the medical firm resolved.  It turned out that the disbursing company employed by the bank screwed up.  That company credited to my account the $500, so all is well on that front. 

We went to NE Texas for a visit with family for a somber occasion -- this was the 8th anniversary of the death of the mom of my Beautiful Gal and her siblings.  The three girls like to get together to remember the occasion.  While there, my Beautiful Gal got me a surprise.  It is something we have talked about ever since moving here but never have found.  My Beautiful Gal's brother offered them to us, and she agreed and surprised me with them:






They are 6 weeks old.  Their mother is Great Pyrenees and their daddy is Anatolian.  We named the boy (lighter color) Max and the girl (darker color) 99, after the two main characters from the '60s TV show _Get Smart_. At the moment they are still missing their previous home, but we are hoping that when they figure out that we bring them food every day that we aren't so bad after all.

Belated happy 29th birthday, Miss @farmerjan!  I am sure you celebrated by painting the town! 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## rachels.haven

So cute! Love the names.


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## Alaskan

Ditto!

That was a great show.

Little babies!  They will grow to love you.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Their mother is Great Pyrenees and their daddy is Anatolian.


Well now you MUST get some sheep, goats, cattle, alpacas, fowl, pigs ...  SOMETHING for those working dogs to guard 

I look forward to more puppy pictures


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## Ridgetop

So exciting for you!    

Two puppies are good since they will play together and keep each out of mischief.  They are tiny now but will grow into strong powerful dogs soon so you need to assert your strength over them now on leash and using tone of voice commands.  (Not angry voice, just firm Alpha tone.  My friend who breeds Anatolians says that using a silly voice will often work to downplay any tense situation where the dogs are overexcited.  

Without animals to guard LGDs become super protective of their humans.  Particularly the Anatolians.  Super obedience training to establish yourself as the alpha is important. Anatolians don't always react well to force or physical punishment as they get older, particularly the males.  However, they will be super guardians for you and your Beautiful Gal on your farm.    Also will be solicitous of you and your BG if they sense or hear in your voice that you are upset with someone or something.  

I have fallen flat several times now and Bubba will come and hover over me to make sure I am  OK.  Once I ascertain I have not broken anything, I grab him by the ruff and hang on him to pull myself up!  Then he slowly escorts me to the house as I lean on him!   

Good thing too, otherwise I might just lay where I have fallen until dinnertime when someone comes looking for me to make dinner!  

He also stands on the barn steps which have no railing to keep me next to the barn wall so I don't topple off!  Good Bubba!


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Congratulations  STA, you now have critters to run your property with you..so happy for you


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## Finnie

Animals! You have animals! Now you have a FARM! 

With animals on it.


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## farmerjan

Thanks @Senile_Texas_Aggie , I appreciate your remembering.  There are no celebrations this year and probably not much in the future.  If you have read much/any of my journal, my son's dog was injured very, very, badly and I had to put her down the morning of the 12th....then got a call an hour after that painfull experience, that we lost my dad on the morning of the 12th also, and we buried him on the 21st... my niece passed away 12 years ago on the 22nd which is 2 days before her fathers birthday (my brother) on the 24th.
Best of luck with the pups.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @farmerjan,

I am sorry, but I had no idea of all of the trouble you have had.  😢  I have yet to start catching up on your journal, Mr. @Mike CHS's journal, or Miss @Ridgetop's journal.  I have postponed catching up not because I don't care but because each of you write such informative posts that it takes a while for my Senile Texas Aggie brain to process.  But I am definitely going to get caught up.  So please forgive me for not knowing.  I am sorry that you have had all of this sorrow in your life.

I woke up this morning thinking about this song from Shaina Nole.  Her music helped my Beautiful Gal and me when we went through a rough period in our lives a few years ago.  I thought that there was someone who needed to hear this.  Maybe it can help you.  Maybe it can help someone else.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## B&B Happy goats

That was really nice STA


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## Baymule

Thank you STA. That was beautiful and soothing and I can sure use that right now.

Congratulations on the puppies. I have 2 Great Pyrenees and 2 Anatolians. You are going to love these dogs more than any dog you have ever had. Both breeds are super intelligent. These dogs are independent thinkers and will amaze you with their intuitiveness. Mine are trying to guard me from sorrow and hurt right now. Poor babies, they know something is dreadfully wrong and are trying to keep it away. They are such a comfort.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @Baymule,

Regarding the puppies, I hope you are right.  So far, the only thing they are interested in is eating and pooping!

Forgive me for not knowing what is going on in your life that has caused so much sorrow, but I send you my thoughts and cares.  I hope you can have the strength to get through this time of sorrow.  

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule

__





						My BJ, My Husband has Died
					

BJ passed away September 20 with Covid Pneumonia. We both were sick, but he got worse and I took him to the hospital. He rallied and I thought I would be bringing him home, but that was not to be. The hospital called me that morning to tell me that they were putting him on a ventilator. BJ could...



					www.backyardherds.com


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie




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## Bruce

We need weekly pictures of the pups STA, they grow so fast!


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## Baymule

Bruce said:


> We need weekly pictures of the pups STA, they grow so fast!


X 2!!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Here are two pictures for the price of one:

Yesterday's sunrise:





The pups from this afternoon.  I would have gotten a closer picture but they tend to get excited and dancing around, making for a blurry picture.




Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Oh, I like 2 for 1s   Is that how you got 2 puppies?


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Oh, I like 2 for 1s  Is that how you got 2 puppies?



As a matter of fact, yes!


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## Bruce

You know how to negotiate a good deal


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Dried pastures...

That is what I am dealing with now.  We have not had any serious rain since early July and the pastures show it.  I would not be surprised if the guy who is leasing our pastures says that he is not going to bale any hay because there is so little grass to be cut.  If he decides that, I am wondering what should I do.  Should I (1) let the grass stand as it si until next year, when with spring growth will be cut for 1st cutting, (2) cut the grass before the first killing frost to give the grass longer to decompose, or (3) cut the grass after the first killing frost to help ensure the seeds get a help in rooting?

Any advice is appreciated...

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## farmerjan

If he is not going to make any hay just cut it whenever it suits you.  It won't make any big difference at this point;  before or after frost.  Seeds are as mature as they are going to be, they won't root until spring, cut over grass as mulch will not make a big difference at this point.  If you have some longer spells of warmth the earthworms will start to work on decomposing it but not a whole lot.  We have places that will get bush hogged as soon as we get to them.  The weed seeds are mature, grass seeds are mature, all you are doing is chopping up the stalky stuff now...
We are cutting now for late growth from the last 2 rains in the last month.  It is thin and sparse, but there is some grass and we need the sq bales.  He is going to cut some of the orchard grass in about 2 weeks, all according to what the weather does.... needs longer to dry with the shorter days, not as intense sun, cooler nights,  and the heavy dew in the morning.  Won't be alot but should be enough to get us through with the sq bale horse customers.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

1 Corinthians 13

1 If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 And if I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory, but do not have love, it does me no good.

4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant.
5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered,
6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with.
9 For we know in part and prophesy in part;
10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with.
11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known.
13 But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

(See https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 Corinthians 13&version=NASB )

May we all put into practice these words.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Happy holidays to all!  May they bring you peace.


----------



## Bruce

You too STA!


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## Alaskan

Merry Christmas!


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Forgiveness and reconciliation

All,

I need some advice.  My Asperger's is a handicap for me in dealing with others at times, so I am sure there are others on this forum much wiser than I on how to solve this problem.  Before I tell you the problem, let me tell you a story that is similar.

On Thursday, Dec 23, I watched a YouTube video by someone that I watch on occasion, perhaps once every month or every other month or so.  In this video, she told of what happened in her family, specifically between her and her husband versus his parents.  A disagreement among them got out of hand to the point that the grandparents (the husband's parents) were harassing the couple and their children.  The grandparents threatened to call the authorities and report the couple for child abuse.  The couple finally decided to sell their house and move to a new location that his parents did not know about, thus cutting off all contact.

After watching that video I felt so sad, wondering why people can let differences escalate to the point to where it causes a big rift in the family.  But that video seemed to be a forewarning of the holiday visit.

In my family, two members are at odds with one another -- so much so that they refuse to speak to one another or be in the same house.  They weren't always that way.  Prior to my dad passing away, they got along fine.  But once my dad died, they had a big verbal fight, each calling the other nasty names.  This was over 5 years ago and it hasn't changed.

On Christmas, my mom will visit with one of them and then the other, but not at the same time.  While we were visiting one of the family members, my mom turned to me, laid her head on my shoulder, weeping, and asked that I help get the two reconciled before she dies.  (Considering that she will soon turn 89, her death is probably not far away.)  I promised her that I would try.

The problem is that I don't know how to go about it.  I know that I cannot force them to reconcile, that each of them will have to reach that decision for him/herself.  Yet I really hope that there is a way that I can make that decision easier.  I really would like to see them reconcile and forgive one another and for my mom to see that happen before she dies.

Most of you on the forum know that I am an atheist.  But while I no longer believe the supernatural elements of the Bible, I agree in large part with its ethical teachings, especially the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew Ch 25, and 1 Corinthians 13.  I remember Jesus' words regarding reconciliation (Matthew 5:23-24)

_Therefore, if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering._

Miss @frustratedearthmother, I know you have been able to forgive a horrific wrong.  (For those of you new to the forum, read about what happened here. It would be even better if you read the prior 20 or so posts as well for context.) I am still in awe of that. I am sure you have words of wisdom for me. I am sure there are others on this forum who have undergone a lot of hurt in the past but have been able to forgive. Do you have any words of wisdom as well? If so, will you please share them?

Thanks in advance to all.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## frustratedearthmother

STA - I am so sorry you are in such a rough position.  

From my own personal experience, and what you mentioned above, you already know you can't 'make' this happen.  I don't know if there's any part of the situation that you can help them resolve but if it wouldn't be offensive to them maybe you could initiate a conversation with each of them.  Perhaps all you might be able to do is to help them understand how hurtful this is to your mother and how she so desperately wishes that they could reconcile. 

I've certainly been in situations in my life where I simply wasn't ready to forgive.  In most instances time can be a great healer.  Holding on to anger for 5 years takes an enormous amount of energy.  It would be awesome if they could take a fraction of that energy and turn it towards healing.

I wish you well and hope that they can lay their differences aside - even if all they can manage to do is agree to disagree.


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## Bruce

I'm sorry for your situation STA. 

I am not even remotely qualified to give advice here. Do you know the nature of the argument that caused this chasm between them?  And if so, does it seem to you that it truly was a major affront of one on the other that it should be so divisive? Or something relatively minor that was blown up out of all reasonable perspective? My guess is they need "couples counseling" which might be of value especially if it is the latter though unless they both care to work on it, I don't guess they would go that way. 

If you get along with both of them I like FEM's idea of explaining to them separately how much this means to your mother. I presume she is important to them. If they can just get along a little while she is alive it will help and they can go back to their separation after she is gone. Or, maybe they decide to let bygones be bygones and have some sort of relationship again.


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## Alaskan

I would talk to each party separately...  or maybe it would be better to email them both....

In an email you could spend the time to carefully craft each word.

You need to start by saying you love them, and that it is clear that they are in great pain (for why else would they have insisted on not seeing each other).

Then say that their mother is also in great pain over their separation. 

Then ask what concrete, specific things could be done to help to heal this rift.  

If they start to spiral into their anger and sadness,  calmly and sweetly redirect to "but what specific steps need to be taken"

So "he needs to be nicer" doesn't work.   But, "he is NEVER to mention my job" is doable. 

If things start to get too emotional,  say you love them, you only want to be helpful.  Ask if they want you to keep working on being the intermediary,  or if they think a professional counselor would be a better choice.

if they want to keep talking...

Get the person to give you a list of points.  Read them back, maybe say "this is a good start,  let us think about it for a week, I will call back in a week and we can review if this is a good list"  After a week of thought,  if they still like their list of concrete things that can be done to fix things a week later...  THEN bring that list to the other party.

 I think the suggestion of a professional counselor could be useful.   With a counselor,  you need to meet with them first and make sure the person is competent and address issues in a way that fits with your philosophy.   Only send them to a counselor that you have pre-screened.  Some are horrid crackpots,  some are great.


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## Baymule

Bruce said:


> If you get along with both of them I like FEM's idea of explaining to them separately *how much this means to your mother*. I presume she is important to them. If they can just get along a little while she is alive it will help and they can go back to their separation after she is gone. Or, maybe they decide to let bygones be bygones and have some sort of relationship again.


I like this idea. They could at least put on a nice face to each other, even if temporarily, for the sake of their mother.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks to all for your input.  The issues between the two run deep.  But I will try your suggestions.  Maybe one or more will work.  Thanks again for your help.


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## Baymule

In my ex-husband's family, when my ex father-in-law's parents died, the siblings fought bitterly over everything. Those men, good men, died never speaking to each other again. So sad. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. My ex-husband and his father, got crossways with each other and didn't speak for years. For my ex-FIL it was probably an improvement, his son spread vicious lies about him and was a complete jerk.  My ex FIL dropped dead of a heart attack. My ex husband raced over, hugging his father's dead body and crying. Too late. 

My ex cozied back up to his mother for a few years, but a leopard can't change it's spots and he turned on her too. At least she got the last laugh, she left him nothing in the will/trust. Hahaha! 

What a screwball, contentious, bickering bunch of back stabbers. I'm still friends with my ex-sister-in-law. We always stayed friends. She lives within rock throwing of her brother, they haven't spoken in years. He really hates her now-she got everything. Haw! Haw! Haw! 

Why can't people just get along? 

STA I really hope you can make a difference. Family differences can be difficult to overcome. Sometimes they take it to their grave.


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## Finnie

Baymule said:


> Why can't people just get along?


Amen!


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## Finnie

@Senile_Texas_Aggie , I hope your two relatives will be able to reconcile. I hope they will start to put your mother’s welfare above their own complaints. 

We have a situation in our family this year, between one of my sons and one of my son-in-laws. I really hope it is not still continuing in 5 years’ time.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

I am sure you have heard of the philosophical question "If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?".  Well, I have something like that, only "If snow falls on Jan 2 and someone is slow to post a picture of it, did it really happen?"  That applies to me.  We woke up on Jan 2 to see snow on the mountaintops(*) around us.  I took a picture of the snow but then was slow to transfer the picture to my laptop where I could edit the picture to make it smaller (fewer pixels) and then post it.  I have finally done that!  Here is that picture of snow on the mountaintops:






Senile Texas Aggie

* if Miss Thistlebloom were still on the forum, she'd be rolling her eyes right now about my calling the hills around me "mountains", considering the height of the Rocky Mountains in northern Idaho.  But for someone like me who grew up in a county where the highest point in the county was only about 50 feet higher than the lowest point, I call these hills mountains!


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## Ridgetop

I agree with Alaskan about *writing* to the relatives and explaining about your mother's grief at not seeing both of them at once.  With a letter you can reword it until it says everything the way you want instead of talking and accidently saying something for one of them to take the wrong way.  Probably just explaining about their mother's feelings would be best, certainly don't try to settle the cause of their disagreement.  Sometimes coming between 2 people with grievances can make both of the turn on you.

I do want to say that you might not be able to repair their feelings since they really need to *want* to be friends.  Were they good friends before or have they never really gotten along?  Sometimes these things are not repairable, and although your mom has asked you to do this for her, it is possible that you will not be able to accomplish it.  

If you are unable to attain a rapprochement between the two relatives, please do not feel responsible in any way for not being able to meet your mom's wishes.  It is not your fault and although you can try, success lies on them.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> "If snow falls on Jan 2 and someone is slow to post a picture of it, did it really happen?"


Yes, because we know you to be an honest person 

DD1 in VA still has no power, 3 days now. A foot of snow though we've seen no pictures we believe her too  

DW's sister in Alexandria, VA posted pictures of her snowshoeing. More snow there than here. Plus another 2-4" tomorrow.


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## farmerjan

@Bruce .....Sorry for your DD1 not having any power.  Radio said power had been restored across the state so.....????? I can believe the foot of snow, especially since there was quite a bit of wind and a farmer friend of mine said they had some blown drifts that were 3 ft deep.  They got more snow east of here... and we are forecast to get  another 3-6 on top of the 6-8 we had, on Thursday eve/night... into Friday;   going to be around 35-40 highs tomorrow then dropping like a rock to single digits on Friday and Saturday....


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks again, Miss @Ridgetop and others, for posting your thoughts as to how to handle the situation in the family.  I am still thinking through what to do.

Thanks, Mr. @Bruce and Miss @farmerjan, for posting about the weather.  Do either of you have pictures of the snow around your places?


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## Bruce

Not enough snow here to talk about. DW can't even use her new snow shoes.

DD1 STILL has no power. 4 days now?? Had to have gotten old about 3 days ago. I see on the power company's website that the BF must have put in a new report at 10:20 this morning as there is an icon right on the house. Says 3 houses have no power. Cause under investigation, no crew assigned. Apparently they had some flickers last night, they were supposed to be fixed about 10:30 PM.


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## Ridgetop

Power outage in winter!  UGG and BRR!

First winter in our house (moved in mid-October) had a massive storm come in and knock out our power.  We used the fireplace and slept in sleeping bags in front of it.  Electric stove and oven so no hot food.  Had to use candles.  Did not have camper or trailer then so no stove.  Youngest was only 2.  Rabbit bottles kept freezing and I had to replace the twice a day.  No hot water after second day because hot water heater used electric ignition!

DH worked for power company so you would think we would get our power on pronto but no!  And he was working 24/7 storm detail!  He kept reporting our house with no power, and crews kept going out on the call, but no power.  They couldn't figure out why crews kept going out to main lines and they kept saying it was back on.  After a week a crew showed up at our house and replaced our transformer. 

Found out that storm had fried the transformer on our pole, and we were the only house fed from that transformer!  Everyone else had power except our house for over a week.  It was super cold too.  30's and 40's.  Felt like a snowbound pioneer woman trying to make sure the fire didn't go out!  

Love my power and heating.


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## Alaskan

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Thanks, Mr. @Bruce and Miss @farmerjan, for posting about the weather. Do either of you have pictures of the snow around your places?


Here are photos from my place this past week


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## Bruce

Doesn't seem as if you've been using the BBQ there Al!

DD1, still no power. No crew assigned. There is a an outage of 245 customers BARELY west with a crew assigned but not on site. I'm not believing those people will get power back in an hour like it says. HOPEFULLY when the crew shows up for that one they will also deal with DD1's BF's house. I gotta believe that, like @Ridgetop, they have a blown transformer. No outage on that road east of his house and the 2 others on the shared driveway. They are their own outage of 3 houses as of 10:20 this morning. Not sure why it doesn't say Monday morning like the other ones, they never got power back.

They are going to Richmond for Covid testing tomorrow. Soon as they get their results they have to hightail it to Canada since there is a 72 hour requirement. I sure hope DD can get back to school!


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## Alaskan

Bruce said:


> Doesn't seem as if you've been using the BBQ there Al!


Very true!  It is a nice homemade big one too.  But it doesn't do so well once temps are below 20F.


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## Baymule

Reading about the power outages, snow and low temperatures makes me glad I’m in Texas. I experienced the worst winter storm of my lifetime last February and that’s enough for me. Hope power comes back on for your DD @ Bruce.


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## Bruce

Alaskan said:


> Very true!  It is a nice homemade big one too.  But it doesn't do so well once temps are below 20F.


Best bring it in the house where it is 40°F then Al !!! 

Yeah power would be nice, they've now been out 4 days. The outage area right next to them had a crew assigned but not on site, up by 10:30 last night. At 11 the status had been changed to no crew assigned. Now it says "crew is en route to an event". Oddly not phrased "en route" or "en route to THIS event". Hopefully it is just weird wording.

DD and BF went to his grandfather's for a shower yesterday according to DW.


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## Ridgetop

Hope the power is on soon.


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## Bruce

Nothing yet, been out over 4.5 days now. They went to Richmond for their Covid tests today which means they have to be on the road back to Canada pretty much ASAP. I think there is a 72 hour window after the test or they won't let her back in.


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## farmerjan

I watched the news last night @Bruce and it seems there is a pocket of an area that is still out.  The central Va power co said they hoped to have everyone back on by Sunday... that there were areas that they could not get the trucks into due to the storm and snow and all.  I feel bad for your DD and her boyfriend and all.  Hope they can make the trip back up and her be able to get back to school with no other problems.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Alaskan said:


> Here are photos from my place this past week


Beautiful pictures, Mr. @Alaskan!  Thanks.



Bruce said:


> DD1, still no power.


Holy cow, Mr @Bruce.  Both my parents and my wife's parents had to do without power back in Dec 2000.  An ice storm hit Christmas night and knocked out all of the power over a wide region for a week.  We well residing in McKinney at the time, which wasn't affected.

The worst we have had for loss of power is only a few hours.  Being without water last February for a week (thanks to my superb water line repair abilities -- NOT!) is the worst we have had.

I hope your daughter can get back into Canada with no problem.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

No suggestion that power is back on. But they presumably left/are leaving (BF likes driving at night) today. Will probably stop in the Boston area either at DD's best friend's or the home of a roommate I think she should be picking up for the ride back to school.

MAYBE the power will be back on when BF gets back home? He's going to fly. From what I can find the flights are about 5 AM so I GUESS they'll arrive in Sackville tomorrow or Monday and he'll fly out Tues or Wed. Not like we get much in the way of details. Found out from DW's sister (lives in Alexandria) that they were leaving some time today. I guess DD answered a text from her, DW hasn't heard anything since last night.

ETA- DW sees that the marker at BF's house has disappeared. Maybe power is back on?


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Mr. @Alaskan,

Here is a picture of the snow we received last night.  Do you think it competes with the amount you have? 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## rachels.haven

You got more than we did outside of Nashville. Ours is a light dusting on rooftops.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Here is a picture of the snow we received last night. Do you think it competes with the amount you have?


Yes, it certainly looks like more than Alaskan (usually) gets in July


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## Alaskan

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Mr. @Alaskan,
> 
> Here is a picture of the snow we received last night.  Do you think it competes with the amount you have?
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie
> View attachment 88945


I think I still have more


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## Baymule

No snow here! We had flurries, but it did not stick. It's 29 right now, high of 72 tomorrow. maybe, just maybe, we can skip snow the rest of winter (February) LOL I just don't have the time to shut down and wait on snow to melt. Can we just skip February and move on to March?


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## farmerjan

It's been awhile since you had any projects going.  What's been going on???? Hope that your health has remained good with all the craziness in the country the last 2 years.  Especially with the latest "variant" omnicrom....

Is the hay guy still making hay on the farm during the season?  Did you get the ag exemption for taxes to help with the yearly costs....??? With the inflation getting ridiculous, any savings is good.  

Ever see any more stray hogs??? I have read that the feral hog populations are just getting worse...

We had about 8-10 inches in the cold miserably nasty storm over the last weekend.  It has been so terribly windy.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Miss @farmerjan,

What a pleasant surprise!  It is always good to hear from you.

As for our health, we are both in good health,  We have been lucky enough to miss catching COVID, although several family members on my wife's side have had it, with her next older sister and her husband having caught both the original version and, just this month, a more recent strain -- probably Omicron.  But our luck may be running out.

As for projects, mostly I have been doing simple stuff.  While I was off the forum in the first half of 2021, we had ANOTHER water main leak.  It was in February and the weather was just above and below freezing while I was trying to repair it, so you can imagine how much fun I had.  Like the previous time, I rented a backhoe to try the repair.  But the repairs kept failing.  I was using 1 1/2" PVC pipe for the water line and was using 1" black steel pipe to prevent it from flexing, but still the PVC pipe would flex enough that the existing water line would pull apart, as the existing water line sections are not glued together.  Instead, one end of a section slides inside a larger end of the next section.  This works great as long as the sections don't move. (I will call this pipe O-PVC as it is PVC with sliding sections and O-rings for seals.)  But the PVC pipe I was installing was flexing enough that the existing end of the O-PVC could slide out from the next existing O-PVC section 20' away.  I started out trying to repair 40' of pipe, then it became 60' of pipe (one O-PVC end would slide out of the one next to it and start leaking 20' away), then 80'.  Finally, after a week's effort and at 100' of pipe being replaced and not knowing how to keep the PVC from flexing and letting the O-PVC slide out, I decided to call a plumber.  It turned out that one of my neighbors living on a ridge overlooking our land is a plumber, so he took over the job.  He got rid of the PVC I was using and decided to use flexible PEX pipe instead.  But where he connected the PEX to the O-PVC, he came up with the ingenious idea of using a hard 90 elbow at each end and drive a stake deep into the ground up against each elbow.  That way, the old O-PVC couldn't slide loose from the next section, being held in place by the stake.  And that fixed the water issue.

Other than that fun project, we have just been cutting down and trimming trees, cutting down overgrowth along the fences, etc.

As for the hay guy, he and I recently cancelled the last 2 years of the 5 year lease.  He bought an additional tract of farmland/hay fields nearer to his home, so he didn't need the hay from my place any more.  So now I am back to where I was when I first posted on this journal back on 2018 Jun 16, almost 4 years ago: "what do I do with 100 acres of pasture?" And I am no closer to an answer now than I was then. I will have to come back and pester you folks some more AFTER I go and read the answers you folks provided back then. 

As for the ag exemption, no, I still have not done that.  I wish there was a place on the Internet to read about ag exemptions, such as "Ag Exemptions for Dummies (including Texas Aggies!)".  While the ag exemption would not help much on our property taxes -- they are not that high here in Arkansas compared to McKinney, TX -- having farm write-offs for our federal income taxes would really be helpful.  Alas, I have yet to find any place that explains the different farm deductions, exemptions, assistance programs, etc.  I look out across our beautiful land with a mixture of gratitude for the beauty and privacy -- I am not stuck in some d*%$ suburb looking at the back or side of someone else's house, or worse, stuck in an urban apartment -- and rebuke, namely "What the H.E. double hockey sticks are you doing here, STA, letting this go to waste???"  I think of how someone like you, Miss @Baymule, @Mike CHS, or Miss @rachels.haven, for example, would have this place both beautiful AND productive.  So here I am, enjoying the beauty and feeling guilty at the same time and so far not doing anything about it.

Regarding hogs, no, we have not seen any since that time.  There haven't been any geese or ducks the last couple of years, either.  I am not sure why.  I have yet to buy a high-powered rifle or shotgun to take care of any hog should it take up residence again, either.  Maybe it is time to do so.

I have been wondering how your weather has been.  I am finally going to have to get caught up on your journal.

Thanks again for asking about me.

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> as the existing water line sections are not glued together.


 
I think maybe the O-ring PVC might be OK for drain pipe but pressure and not glued??



Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Alas, I have yet to find any place that explains the different farm deductions, exemptions, assistance programs, etc.


I wonder if the Ag extension agent could help with that. They should be pretty well informed I would think.

Maybe you could turn your place into an animal rescue. All you need is some fence and buildings and ....


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> I think maybe the O-ring PVC might be OK for drain pipe but pressure and not glued??



Yes, I was surprised to learn that as well.  At first I thought the glue holding the old pipe together had gotten old and was giving way.  But then I looked more closely and saw that there was no glue at all, just an O-ring seal and a long (~ 1') of extra large tubing at one end where the next section would slide into.  I later saw a YouTube (I wish I could find it) where a homesteader was installing that kind of water line to his new house.  I wanted to tell him "You'll be sorry!"


----------



## Bruce

I guess if the piece are slid ALL the way in AND there is no way for them to shift the o-ring pipe MIGHT be OK?


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Right.  I was handicapped by not wanting to fill in the trench unless I knew there were no leaks in the new PVC I glued.  I didn't want to fill in the trenches only to have to dig them out again to fix the leaks.  But leaving the trenches unfilled just to ensure that the connections weren't leaking would allow the new PVC pipe to flex enough that the existing O-PVC could slide and then start leaking 20 feet away.  I was at my wits end.  Fortunately the plumber came up with the smart idea of using 90° elbows and stout rods driven into the ground at each elbow to keep the existing O-PVC from sliding.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

Well, I did it again!  Way back on Jan 4, 2020, I decided to burn some brush that was in my pasture.  While I wasn't looking, the fire got out of hand and started burning the pasture (you can read about it here: https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...-relief-for-the-rest-of-you.38161/post-633997).  On Sunday, I decided to burn another brush pile.  The grass was already cut short, the wind was light, the ground was still a little damp from the rain we had a couple of days before, so it seemed like a perfect day to burn the brush pile.  Unlike the last time, I decided to stay close by.  I lit the fire, which seemed to burn OK but not crazy.  So I decided to cut a limb off a fallen tree that was in the woods while the brush pile burned.  I was not looking at the brush pile for maybe 5 minutes.  When I finally looked back at the pile, the fire had jumped to the pasture and the wind was blowing it at a pretty pace.  I immediately tried to put out the fire with the mower by mowing over it.  This was working OK but not great.  The fire was moving so fast, though, that I had a hard time keeping up with it.  Here is two pictures of how it looked after I finally got the fire put out,  The first picture is that of the entire burned area, while the second one is of the part of the area where the fire almost got into the woods a long the creek.

So I hereby award myself a Zinger™ award!

Senile Texas Aggie


----------



## Alaskan

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> All,
> 
> Well, I did it again!  Way back on Jan 4, 2020, I decided to burn some brush that was in my pasture.  While I wasn't looking, the fire got out of hand and started burning the pasture (you can read about it here: https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...-relief-for-the-rest-of-you.38161/post-633997).  On Sunday, I decided to burn another brush pile.  The grass was already cut short, the wind was light, the ground was still a little damp from the rain we had a couple of days before, so it seemed like a perfect day to burn the brush pile.  Unlike the last time, I decided to stay close by.  I lit the fire, which seemed to burn OK but not crazy.  So I decided to cut a limb off a fallen tree that was in the woods while the brush pile burned.  I was not looking at the brush pile for maybe 5 minutes.  When I finally looked back at the pile, the fire had jumped to the pasture and the wind was blowing it at a pretty pace.  I immediately tried to put out the fire with the mower by mowing over it.  This was working OK but not great.  The fire was moving so fast, though, that I had a hard time keeping up with it.  Here is two pictures of how it looked after I finally got the fire put out,  The first picture is that of the entire burned area, while the second one is of the part of the area where the fire almost got into the woods a long the creek.
> 
> So I hereby award myself a Zinger™ award!
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


Well...  you got yourself a bunch of exercise,  and a free heart stress test!



Congrats!  You passed!


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## Baymule

That is scary! But you got it put out, so that is good. I have a huge burn pile. I won't light it unless the winds are 5 mph or less. Plus it has been very dry this winter, we are in drought mode.


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## farmerjan

So very glad that you got it out and stopped before it got into the woods and you got into a real jam.   And that you did not get hurt/burned in the process.  Things like that can take off in a new york minute....


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I immediately tried to put out the fire with the mower by mowing over it.



Doesn't the mower have gas in it? Isn't gas flammable/explosive???
Sure glad you didn't get hurt.

I have it easier here. My "brush piles" are small and fit in the burn pit in the lawn behind the house. I think it is maybe 12' across. No problem with fire spreading when there is no wind and the ground is snow covered.


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch

I'm glad you got it under control! I don't know what the laws are in your area but you might want to check to make sure you don't run into future issues.

The reason I state that is in my area (granted it's California and the state catches on fire every year) we are required to have a burn permit, must check to see if it's a burn day, must have a water source/hose present, must have an adult present at all times, and pile should not exceed 3*3. 

Usually the amount of stuff we need to burn is much larger, so we create a small pile to the side, maybe 20' away from the big pile, and then keep feeding the small pile from the big one till it's all gone. It is more work than just lighting the original pile but it's more controlled, and also if it's the time of year where critters are having babies, gives you the chance to scare off or discover the babies in the brush pile before they get burned.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Doesn't the mower have gas in it? Isn't gas flammable/explosive???



By mower, I mean the rotary cutter / shredder / brush hog on the back of the tractor, not a zero turn radius mower.  Now THAT would be exciting!



Larsen Poultry Ranch said:


> must have an adult present at all times,



Dang!  That disqualifies me! 

I may need to use the small pile to burn and then feed it from a bigger one.  I have another big pile to burn, so I may need to try that method.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Given you have a grapple, feeding a small fire from a big pile would be easy. And safer than running over burning grass.


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## Ridgetop

Wow!  The adventures at your place never stop!!!  We sure have missed you.

Talk to the extension agent and also talk to the cunty tax assessor's office about the different AG exclusions.  Not sure about Arkansas, but Texas has several different types:

*Agriculture* - Raising livestock, growing crops (including hay), pasture, fruit, nuts, etc.   *Timber *-        Manage and growing trees, including harvesting for lumber and replanting                            (needs too much specialized knowledge for me)
*Wildlife* -       Keeping a balance of acreage formulated for wildlife.  For this one you need                        to keep records of species on the land, manage different species to have a                            good species mixture that is ecologically sound, and what you do to manage                       numbers, and encourage breeding nesting, etc.  (Some specialized knowledge)

It is possible that you can do one of those 3.  I think you sound like you would enjoy the Wildlife one and since you only need to read up on what would be necessary for the different species, it might be something to which you can easily adapt your property.  It would not need fencing and would be the least invasive thing to do with the land.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

As I promised on Mr. @Bruce's journal (see https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/bruces-journal.34651/post-699536), I am now posting a picture of the sleet and snow we received here in western Arkansas:






From the same storm system, here is what Miss @Baymule got in east Texas (from her post found at https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/baymule’s-journal.42854/post-699506):




Now, Mr. @Alaskan, aren't you impressed? 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

Looks like you had some blow to accompany the sleet and snow.

Yes I am impressed. Primarily because until a couple of years ago I didn't know it ever snowed that far south other than in the mountains


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## Alaskan

Nice you got a little change in scenery!

Same old same old, up here.

My most recent photo...  from yesterday


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## Baymule

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> All,
> 
> As I promised on Mr. @Bruce's journal (see https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/bruces-journal.34651/post-699536), I am now posting a picture of the sleet and snow we received here in western Arkansas:
> 
> View attachment 89244
> 
> From the same storm system, here is what Miss @Baymule got in east Texas (from her post found at https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/baymule’s-journal.42854/post-699506):
> View attachment 89245
> 
> Now, Mr. @Alaskan, aren't you impressed?
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


Hahahaha!! I'm impressed, even if no one else is! 
I'm even MORE impressed with the SUNSHINE  warming things up today!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

OK, a bit of humor regarding how we handle winter in the South versus the Mid-West:


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## Bruce




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## Baymule

I love that accent! And people think I talk funny!


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## Alaskan

Baymule said:


> I love that accent! And people think I talk funny!


A friend of mine just told me I have an accent...   

I sure don't hear it.


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## Baymule

Alaskan said:


> A friend of mine just told me I have an accent...
> 
> I sure don't hear it.


I have that slow Texas drawl, AND a Southern accent. 
Once I told Alexa to add Asiago cheese to the shopping list. She replied, "I added SOGGY OLD CHEESE to the shopping list."  Sometimes I get to the store and check my shopping list on the phone, and I don't even know what the heck it is. Alexa needs a Texas translator.


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## rachels.haven

Baymule said:


> I have that slow Texas drawl, AND a Southern accent.
> Once I told Alexa to add Asiago cheese to the shopping list. She replied, "I added SOGGY OLD CHEESE to the shopping list."  Sometimes I get to the store and check my shopping list on the phone, and I don't even know what the heck it is. Alexa needs a Texas translator.


Reminds me of the time we had Alexa read us the shopping list and we found out my older son had discovered it. She read, normal item, normal item, normal item...then eventually got to "Dolphin butt, chicken butt, man butt, Dan butt..." (and he continued along those lines clearly we were going through a 2nd grade butt phase). The idea that cracks me up even more is that someone was at one point thinking of making the smart carts A->Z was working on read your shopping list to you while you shopped. Obviously there are some items that people need, use, or just put on the list that would make this a bad idea. Some of them were added to our list by my older son. Soggy old cheese might be another.


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## Baymule

I carry my phone in my front blue jeans pocket. Sometimes while I'm working, The phone gets squeezed and Siri thinks I'm calling her. She will say things like, "I didn't quite get that, can you repeat it" This of course irritates me. When my friend Steve and I were jacking up and blocking those confounded 40' shipping containers, the phone got squeezed a lot. I argued with Siri, told her to shutup, he and I were laughing about it. Finally I told her, "SHUTUP PHONE AND GO AWAY!!!" Her reply, "THAT'S NOT NICE!" 

We laughed like hyenas over that one. it's bad enough to be arguing with a phone, but I got told off!


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## Bruce

Apparently the Alexa coders knew that "she" would be just as annoying as Microsoft's Clippy and illicit verbal abuse. Clippy couldn't hear or respond though.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

All,

It seems that I angered the gods again so they sent me more plumbing problems to deal with.  This time the leak was near the house, where I have worked on the plumbing before, and not somewhere out in the pasture.  My Beautiful Gal again insisted that I call a plumber, so I called the plumber that repaired my water line that was out in the field.  (He is a neighbor of ours that resides on the ridge south of our house.)  He was not able to come for a week, but fortunately the leak was a slow one so we could wait that long.  He was finally able to come this morning.  I was glad for that, as this was the last day with nice weather.  For the next several days it is supposed to rain and be cold, sometimes below freezing, and repairing a water line in weather like that is no fun.

One thing I learned from the plumber is that the glue I had been using is prone to leaking after a year or two.  Here is what I used: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Oatey-8-fl-oz-LO-VOC-PVC-Cement/4750819 .  He said he has repaired so many joints where that glue was used.  He uses the same brand, Oatey, but clear.  The down side of using the clear is that the pipes to be joined must be dry, no water at all, otherwise the glue won't set up properly.  But if the joints are dry and the glue is applied and the items fitted together and allowed to dry, that type of cement will hold.

I have several more PVC joints where I used that blue Oatey cement, all next to the house, so if they start leaking I will replace all of the joints and use the clear Oatey cement.  So you gods who are punishing me will have to find something else to use! 

I heard the tree frogs (peepers) for the first time this year.  Miss @rachels.haven, did you have tree frogs in Iowa or Detroit or Massachusetts?  Are you hearing them in Tennessee?  Has anyone else on the forum heard tree frogs yet?

Last week our new neighbors who bought a place directly east of us caught their woods on fire.  I saw the smoke billowing up and wondered if it was on our property.  I heard sirens, so I decided to go over in the tractor to see what was happening and to see if I could help.  It turned out that they were trying to burn a brush pile behind their east pond left there by the previous owners.  They did everything right: they wet down the area with a garden hose and kept it at the ready and they waited for the wind to be calm.  At first the pile burned as expected.  Then unexpectedly the wind picked up and blew some sparks into the woods where the fire got out of control.  Also, quite surprisingly, a good bit of the ground that they had wet also burned!  It seemed that the water ran off the vegetation onto the ground and the vegetation dried out again and was able to burn.

The fire got out of control in the woods, blew across the driveway into the woods on the other side.  Fortunately the fire simply burned the vegetation on the forest floor.  It did not get into any trees.  (We have had substantial rain this winter, so no trees were dried out.)  The fire trucks and the bulldozer that the forestry service sent was able to surround the burning area and then put out the flames.

The wife, Trish, was quite distraught and on the verge of tears, as it was her idea to burn the brush pile.  I tried to reassure her that they did everything right.  It was just that the wind came up.  One of the fire fighters said that the next time it might be wise to wait until the humidity is higher before burning, but other than that, they had done everything right.  Fortunately, no one was injured, and no structures were damaged -- just some woods burned up.  One good thing was that I got to meet the new neighbors! 

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Alaskan

Too much excitement!!!!

When something like that happens...will those neighbors have to pay a bill or fine or some such to the county or fire department?

How does that work?


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## rachels.haven

@Senile_Texas_Aggie , we had a deafening amount of spring peepers in Massachusetts. The other places not so much. I had them when my family lived in Arkansas for a while too and in summers/late spring in Iowa.


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## Finnie

I miss the spring peepers we had in SW Michigan. They were wonderful. Here, I have to listen very carefully, and I might hear some once or twice before they are done. Just a small amount.

@Senile_Texas_Aggie , I was wondering how your puppies are doing. Am I remembering correctly that you got a couple LGD pups a while back?


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## farmerjan

Sorry to read about the pipes and the glue... and glad that you now have a remedy for it... let's hope that if they are going to give you trouble in the other ones, it waits until it is nicer weather.

So glad that the neighbors fire turned out to not be too bad; and that the fire dept was able to contain it.    Burning up the vegetation on the ground is a good thing for them, it will lessen any immediate future problems.  
Here in Va we have a burning ban before 4 p.m. from Feb 1st to April 30th... and they discourage you from burning if it is dry .  We get alot of wind during the daytime hours for those couple of months... wind patterns they say.  West Va has similar burning bans but it goes into May I think.   I worry about burning unless it is raining.. because it can get away from you so fast even when you are doing things right.


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## Bruce

All's well that ends well?

Seems like those big brush piles are a disaster waiting to happen since the weather can change in the hours it takes them to burn down. Even my little fires in the 12' fire ring take hours to burn down.


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## rachels.haven

Strike that, Aggie. We have peepers tonight in Tennessee.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Alaskan said:


> When something like that happens...will those neighbors have to pay a bill or fine or some such to the county or fire department?
> 
> How does that work?



I don't know if they had to pay a bill or fine.  I do know that the volunteer fire department at Sugar Grove (about 2 miles east of us) assesses a $35/year fee that is not required, but I believe that if they are called and you are not a member then you get assessed a fee.  We joined the 2nd year we were here (didn't know anything about it the first year).

Miss @farmerjan, there _may_ be such a ban here, thought if there is I don't know about it.  The only legal ban I know about is that the county judge of each county can issue a fire ban and the county web site shows the burn ban status.  



Bruce said:


> Seems like those big brush piles are a disaster waiting to happen since the weather can change in the hours it takes them to burn down. Even my little fires in the 12' fire ring take hours to burn down.



That is how it has been here: the brush will blaze up quickly and burn like crazy for about 15 minutes.  Then it will burn more slowly for hours, then smolder for days.



rachels.haven said:


> @Senile_Texas_Aggie , we had a deafening amount of spring peepers in Massachusetts. The other places not so much. I had them when my family lived in Arkansas for a while too and in summers/late spring in Iowa.





Finnie said:


> I miss the spring peepers we had in SW Michigan. They were wonderful. Here, I have to listen very carefully, and I might hear some once or twice before they are done. Just a small amount.





rachels.haven said:


> Strike that, Aggie. We have peepers tonight in Tennessee.



I am glad to know others enjoy their sounds as well. 



Finnie said:


> @Senile_Texas_Aggie , I was wondering how your puppies are doing. Am I remembering correctly that you got a couple LGD pups a while back?



They are really big now.  Max, the boy, weighs almost as much as I can lift, while 99, the girl, is also big.  We had Max neutered in January, while 99 will get spayed next month.  Once we no longer need to worry about surprise puppies, we will let them out of the pen in which we have kept them most of the time.  (They will probably run off then!)

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce

And THEN we will get puppy pictures?? You have been remiss in paying your dog pictures tax, last picture was 5 months ago! I'll let it slide this time but NEXT time, there WILL be a fine!


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## Finnie

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> while 99 will get spayed next month.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


I’m not trying to tell you when to spay your dog, because that’s, of course, your decision. But did you know that spaying a large breed dog before it is fully grown causes a delay in the closing of the growth plates in its leg bones? There are also other long term unintended consequences from removing the hormones that are a result of the spay/neuter surgery. 

Of course, you have to weigh the pros and cons, since delaying until after the second heat or until 2 years old does drag out the length of time that you have to be diligent about avoiding pregnancy.


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## Bruce

Since Max was already neutered there is no hurry to get 99 done. And yes, for reasons I do not know, vets seem to think animals should be neutered too young, as you pointed out. But not a young as the SPCA and other shelters do.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Maybe you folks can provide guidance in how best to raise the dogs.  I do not want 99 to get pregnant and have to deal with unwanted puppies.  Until now we have kept the dogs in a shed at night and in a pen in the daytime, occasionaly taking them for a 1/2 mile walk.  Once the surgeries were done, I had planned on letting the dogs roam wherever they wanted, hoping they would stay close to the house.  We currently have no fencing to keep them in.  But maybe we should consider getting electric fencing, akin to what is used for goats, and make them a roomy area to keep them in.  That way 99 won't get pregnant (hopefully) and they will have more room than they do now.  Also, by using an enclosed area, that would permit our black cat to roam outside.  (The dogs view that cat as a chew toy, so we have to keep them separate.)  Any suggestions?

We are currently experiencing thunder sleet.  We have of course experienced thunderstorms before, and once experienced thunder snow, but this is the first time we have experienced thunder sleet.  Has anyone else experienced that?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Alaskan

I know all that "spay/neuter" later stuff for the big breeds....

We have had 2 big breeds, both male...  but N0 WAY was i going to even wait a full year to get either one cut.

   those hormones do a bunch of behavior influence.... 

Incredibly easier to keep them from roaming,  AND get them to listen/mind/be generally obedient once they are neutered.

All the dogs we had when I was a kid were female...  I don't remember a big behavior difference between pre and post spay (of course when in heat...that is different... but in general...)

I think your pups are great Pyrenees??? That breed will NOT stay put... they have no idea how.  They will walk off until a fence stops them.

Our Mastiff didn't need a fence (once neutered), it was easy to train him to where he was supposed to stay and guard and teach him property boundaries.


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## Bruce

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> I had planned on letting the dogs roam wherever they wanted, hoping they would stay close to the house.


 

oh, sorry, did I post that out loud? 

I know you have a lot of acreage and the house isn't close to the property lines but if they don't have a flock to guard there isn't much reason to not wander,


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## rachels.haven

@Senile_Texas_Aggie probably doesn't want to wind up with 14 new LGD puppies. Bad for the marriage and sanity.


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## farmerjan

We do not have any LGD's because we do not have the fences to contain them.  We had one and there were some major issues with a neighbor "do-gooder" that thought it was absolutely horrible to expect the dog to live with the sheep.... BUT, we also had one for a short time that would not stay in most any fence and had to go back to the original owner which was the agreement... and they had hoped that a place in a more rural area would maybe get him to settle down a bit. 
However, there are a couple of people around here that have them with their sheep.  The Great Pyr's do not stay put... they are roamers and decide what they want to guard.  One has an Anatolian x pyr that is very protective of their kids, sheep, yard, family(the dog has designated everyone there as their "PACK"),  but it is also fenced. 
Because of my lack of much experience I would defer to @Baymule , and @Ridgetop ... BUT ... these dogs are bred to do a job.  If there is nothing there for them to "take care of or to guard" they have no reason to stick around.  I think you are going to be very disappointed if you turn them loose as they are not going to stay.  Especially with 2 of them, they are going to have company and go looking for a "job to do"..... and when they are going through the puppy/learning stage which often lasts into their 1st and 2nd year, they can do more killing before they learn what is acceptable behavior.  
Perhaps you need to rethink the whole project before they get to the point where you want to turn them loose,  and then suffer consequences from them getting into trouble.  With  the amount of money you have invested, it would be a tragedy to have them either just roam and disappear, or to have them get into trouble with killing someone's animals and then you having to pay for it and perhaps have them impounded or destroyed.   
Without animals on the farm to protect, they are not going to be content to just laze around.  It is not their nature.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone, for the input.  The puppies are a cross between Anatolian and Great Pyrenees.  It sounds like we need to plan to have an electric fence of some kind in which to keep them so that they will not roam.  Well, that will make it easier knowing that now, rather than setting them free and hoping they would stay put.  Maybe I should also check to see just what the laws and ordinances are for Arkansas and Logan county regarding restricting dogs' movement.


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## Mini Horses

Sadly for an owner, most of these LGDs don't "know" not to attempt to make guard duty rounds a part of "all they can see".  It's what they were born to do. They just have an unexplainable need to do it.   The fenced animals they are to guard are often the only thing that keeps them a little closer to where you want them to be.

They are beautiful dogs to look at....and enjoy.   But, they NEED a job and proper limits trained for their behaviour instincts.  If they agree with you, they'll consider the request.  🤭


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## Bruce

rachels.haven said:


> @Senile_Texas_Aggie probably doesn't want to wind up with 14 new LGD puppies. Bad for the marriage and sanity.



Given Max is already neutered any pups 99 has would be "traveling salesman" mutts. 

Are the dogs long or short haired STA? I'm not sure an electric fence by itself will keep them in unless you have a lot of strands maybe a foot apart, 5' high, tightly strung and very hot. You are going to need strong wood post corners properly braced. And more inline braced posts for the gates, can't have too many so you can get into, out of and through the fenced area. I have 1 acre fenced including the pond and I would say that was minimum for a full grown GP. 

Of course once you've got proper fencing, no reason not to put up an animal shelter for them and the sheep or goats you'll want to get


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## rachels.haven

If you went electric I recommend putting 2-3 wires on nose and near ground leve, maybe 4-6" apart no matter what kind of electric fence you use. Our girl is super hairy, however the nose leads the dog and her nose always hits the fence first. We have electric step in net, around the pigs right now. Her most recent incident with it was when she decided she was going to fence fight the pigs for their pig food. It did not work out for her, but I did get to discover Bailey can yelp loud and run fast. (no food bullies allowed)
With the criteria of at least 4' high and a goal to have the dog tag the wire with it's nose first you should be able to figure something out. Maybe make the lower wires closer together and the higher ones farther apart and save you some wire and time.
Some people also use some kind of electric fence and collar system for their Pyrs, but IDK how expensive that is.


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## Bruce

I think it is hard to get the prongs deep enough into the fur of a GP.


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## rachels.haven

Most Tennesseans shave them. Too hot and humid and the dogs like it.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Did Big Foot Do This?

All,

I discovered a cedar tree that had broken off about 8 feet above the ground: 




There was no sign of any big limb having hit the tree to cause it to break.  Here a picture of another tree just outside of town with similar damage:




I have heard of trees freezing and rupturing but have never knowingly seen any trees where that happened.  For you folks where it gets cold in the winter, such as Mr. @Bruce, Miss @farmerjan, Miss @SA Farm, and others, any ideas what caused this?  Maybe it was weight from the sleet we had last week (almost 2 inches).  I don't know.  But the way the trees, especially the cedar tree, looked as if they had been snapped in two has me wondering.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Mini Horses

I see snow.....any footprints??   I vote " bigfoot".   🤣

What's strange is only one tree, among more.  Now in picture of cedar, I do see two more bent in same direction, basically.  We're those broken at all, any amount?  Also a couple others have a lean...do you get winds often, coming across that field into the woods?   

We don't get temps that would cause trees to freeze.  Other than above and ice weight.....I give bigfoot the credit. 😁


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## Cecilia's-herd

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Thanks, everyone, for the input.  The puppies are a cross between Anatolian and Great Pyrenees.  It sounds like we need to plan to have an electric fence of some kind in which to keep them so that they will not roam.  Well, that will make it easier knowing that now, rather than setting them free and hoping they would stay put.  Maybe I should also check to see just what the laws and ordinances are for Arkansas and Logan county regarding restricting dogs' movement.


I feel you should wait until at least one to spay and neuter. Especially a large dog like an anatolian. If 99 happens to conceive before then I personally would do a spay-abort. I have done it once and I would 100% do it again.My opinion might be controversial but I am willing to defend them. I think it is a great idea to look into your laws and ordinances.


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## Bruce

That is the biggest thing Bigfoot can break over in Arkansas?? 

No idea, but the last tree I cut up (check back some months in my journal as a reminder) was snapped off 12' above the ground. It was 18" in diameter and wasn't rotten. Nothing big fell on it. I have NO idea why it broke off unless it was a big wind. But why it and no others? **


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## Baymule

STA in my opinion, for what it's worth, letting your dogs run loose where ever they want would be a bad idea. Even though they ARE livestock guard dogs, they still must be trained. With no training, allowed to run loose, they are liable to get into trouble. Trouble being the possibility of chasing livestock. Indeed, my own dogs chased the very sheep they were supposed to be guarding, when young pups. It took training, patience and penning the dog inside the barn where he/she could be with the sheep, but not be able to "play" with them. 

In puppy world, they growl, bark and snarl at each other, in play. If it gets too rough the puppy screams YIPE!! Play stops, puppies look worried, they may lick each other in reassurance, because one got 'hurt'. Now put that same play behavior in a field of goats, sheep, poultry or even young calves. The young dog(s) start "playing" with some goats. The goats run because they are scared. Dogs are predators. The young dogs think the goats want to play and they chase them. The dogs catch a goat. It is bleating, they maul it. The problem is, the goat doesn't speak hurt puppy YIPE, the dogs think the goat is having as much fun as they are and they may get carried away and injure or even kill the goat. Now there is a real problem. With 2 dogs, they are their own pack, it was SO much fun, they do it again. 

The goats owner sees the fun and shoots the dogs. You are contacted by the sheriff deputy and must pay damages. Since your dogs were on someone else's property, it is all your fault, the owner of the goats was well within the law in shooting your dogs to protect his livestock. There are dead goats and dead dogs, you get a citation, must pay a fine and must pay for the dead goats. 

Not a pretty picture. 

Please don't let your dogs run loose. 

At the farm in Lindale, we fenced it very well with 2"x4" non climb wire to keep our dogs IN and everybody else's OUT. There are people in that area that let their dogs run loose because it is out in the county and their dogs can be "free".  There are other people in that area that keep their rifle handy because they don't want those "free" dogs getting in the garbage and making a mess, chasing their chickens, in their pastures chasing livestock--and they practice SSS. Shoot Shovel Shutup.


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## Cecilia's-herd

Baymule said:


> SSS. Shoot Shovel Shutup.


I know a few people around here that do this with hawks and bald eagles...


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## Bruce

You best hope those aren't tracked raptors.


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## Cecilia's-herd

Bruce said:


> You best hope those aren't tracked raptors.


Hey, I honestly don't care if those d-bags go to jail LOL! I'm not going to do anything like that for a protected species. I'd rather just build a better coop or keep my puppies on a lead.


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## farmerjan

If the dam##d eagles here were not so visual, and some are chipped when they got "re-introduced" here  there would be fewer because I also would shoot them.   I had one carry off and/or kill 127 free range laying hens... many of which he dropped in the neighbors yard because they were too big for him to carry off.....and who actually threatened me at the coop one day.  
And on top of that we have lost 3 newborn lambs in the last 3 days... almost definitely to a huge hawk... a set of twins and the other one one of a pair of twins.  We are overrun with the hawks here and the eagles have settled in to the area around the truck stop now and are actually becoming a nuisance....
The county over calls the bald eagles white headed buzzards,  as they have encountered them attacking and killing ewes while lambing and killing the lambs... and there are 2 different instances where it was videoed;  an eagle attacking a cow calving..... and one where they were tearing a calf apart.  
No, I have no use for the eagles at all anymore. 

I would not go out and just shoot them for no reason... but when they are caught in the act, they need the SSS.....


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## Cecilia's-herd

farmerjan said:


> If the dam##d eagles here were not so visual, and some are chipped when they got "re-introduced" here  there would be fewer because I also would shoot them.   I had one carry off and/or kill 127 free range laying hens... many of which he dropped in the neighbors yard because they were too big for him to carry off.....and who actually threatened me at the coop one day.
> And on top of that we have lost 3 newborn lambs in the last 3 days... almost definitely to a huge hawk... a set of twins and the other one one of a pair of twins.  We are overrun with the hawks here and the eagles have settled in to the area around the truck stop now and are actually becoming a nuisance....
> The county over calls the bald eagles white headed buzzards,  as they have encountered them attacking and killing ewes while lambing and killing the lambs... and there are 2 different instances where it was videoed;  an eagle attacking a cow calving..... and one where they were tearing a calf apart.
> No, I have no use for the eagles at all anymore.
> 
> I would not go out and just shoot them for no reason... but when they are caught in the act, they need the SSS.....


What a nightmare! I've never had one actually do anything. But they have scooped up and killed my neighbor's puppy. As well as many of his chickens.


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## Mike CHS

We haven't had any issues with Eagles but we have Mexican Vultures that will kill lambs and even baby calves when they are being born.  They are protected but we get a Federal permit to take out up to three but I have only had to take out one and the rest move on.


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## Cecilia's-herd

Predatory birds are the worst! So scary.


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## farmerjan

The blackheaded Mexican Vultures here are just as bad.  I caught 4 several years ago, INSIDE a shed that was 24 ft deep... big enough to get the hay wagon all the way in.... eating a baby calf that was still alive.  He had had scours and I had put him in there to get him "under cover" and had been giving him electrolyte bottles and he had started to come around... could get up and walk some although still wobbly.  The sorry SOB's were in there and pecking his butt hole and literally eating him alive and he was too weak to do much.... they are notoriously the absolute worst... I shot 2 and then had to put down the calf.... and there are constant reports by others on some of the cattle forums I go on, of the predation of these buzzards...

 2 years ago I had a group of first calf heifers at the place I call the nurse cow pasture... The daughter was living there when they sold their house and were waiting for the new house to close and so she and her 2 kids were there for about a month... She saw a bunch of them down in the field so went down on the 4-wheeler.... there were 16 surrounding a heifer that was calving... she called me and I was on my way home from work and she stayed down there, 'til I got there,  keeping them away from this 1st calf heifer as she had her calf and it got it cleaned off and I got there when it got on it's feet for the first time.  I stayed with her and about an hour total the calf was a little stronger and I got her to take it into the wooded area where they seldom will go since they cannot take off to fly in the brush and trees.   The sorry bas#@!ds would have killed that calf if not for her intervention.  They are the first on my list of hated "protected" birds... but the eagles around here pull a close second.  Our local animal control said that if they disappeared, they didn't see anything.  Yes you can get some hardship permits, but some states are doing like Tenn where @Mike CHS    is and giving permits to farmers... There is talk of taking them off the federally protected list since they have become such a problem.  I do not know one farmer that doesn't hate them.  
Most of us have nothing against the true "turkey vulture/buzzard" as they truly are scavengers.... both have a sense of smell which is rare in any type of bird... but they do not seek out live prey like the black headed ones....and the black headed ones are pushing the turkey vultures out of their habitat... they are way too aggressive.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, everyone for your input regarding the dogs.  It looks like I will be building a fence for them.

We had to make a fast trip to NE Texas Thursday .. yesterday: James had a heart attack and underwent open heart surgery.  His recovery is not going well.  His wife Treasa is under a good bit of stress, plus she had a stroke about 6 months ago and hasn't completely recovered.  Several of the family members who reside in NE Texas are trying to help out, but several have strong opinions on what is best that conflict with others with strong opinions on what is best.  Poor Treasa is caught in the turmoil.  All we can do is try to offer support.  I suspect we will be going back to NE Texas in a few days.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

So sorry @Senile_Texas_Aggie .  My prayers for the family., and for you and your wife.   It is hard on someone who has had a stroke and not be completely recovered, then for the "other half" to suffer a traumatic event like the heart attack and surgery.


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## Alaskan

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Thanks, everyone for your input regarding the dogs.  It looks like I will be building a fence for them.
> 
> We had to make a fast trip to NE Texas Thursday .. yesterday: James had a heart attack and underwent open heart surgery.  His recovery is not going well.  His wife Treasa is under a good bit of stress, plus she had a stroke about 6 months ago and hasn't completely recovered.  Several of the family members who reside in NE Texas are trying to help out, but several have strong opinions on what is best that conflict with others with strong opinions on what is best.  Poor Treasa is caught in the turmoil.  All we can do is try to offer support.  I suspect we will be going back to NE Texas in a few days.
> 
> Senile Texas Aggie


So sorry about the news.


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## Bruce

Really bad situation. I hope his recovery improves. And family squabbling, not good at all.


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## Baymule

Remember when you build your fence, these are big dogs that need space. They are a working dog breed and may make good pets, but they may need a job to do. You and your beautiful gal are their "pack" and don't be surprised if they guard you. I'm guessing they are half grown now? Are they leash trained? They will need socializing, that means loading them in the back seat and taking them for a ride. I have found Tractor Supply to be a great excursion for my dogs. While I want them to guard my sheep, I don't want snarling, vicious dogs that bite people. So off to TSC we go, they get to spend time on the dog food and toy aisle and they enjoy it. I allow people to pet them and it goes a long way to socialize them. It sure makes it easier to take them to the vet. Loading up a 100+ pound unwilling dog ain't for the faint of heart. 

I'm so sorry for James, his wife and the whole situation. It is good of y'all to be there for support, I hope the family can control their disagreements on what is best for them. Did anybody think to ASK James and wife what THEY want?


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## Bruce

Baymule said:


> Loading up a 100+ pound unwilling dog ain't for the faint of heart.


Or your back!


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## Mike CHS

Bruce said:


> Or your back!



I literally say "Thank you Joe" every time I get Mel in the truck by saying "Up"


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## farmerjan

Mike CHS said:


> I literally say "Thank you Joe" every time I get Mel in the truck by saying "Up"


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## Cecilia's-herd

Prayers for your family and James. Truly a sucky situation.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Thanks, all, for your comments.  We got home late Thursday after leaving for NE Texas Monday morning.  One of Treasa's daughter contacted my Beautiful Gal to let her know how worn down Treasa was and how she needed LaQuita's help.  So we left around 10 AM Monday and stayed until Thursday afternoon.  James left the hospital and came home Monday afternoon.  I think our presence helped them out.  Treasa was able to get some rest, with LaQuita helping Treasa do some of the house work while Treasa focused on James and his needs.  I was the "gofer" - go for lunch take-out, go for groceries, go for medicines, etc.  The two opinionated relatives helped out a lot by staying out of the picture.  I think our presence was the reason for that.  We decided to leave on Thursday afternoon because of the weather forecast for Friday for rain, sleet, and snow.  We didn't want to be driving in that so we came home a bit early.  See the attached panorama picture for how it looked late Friday afternoon.



Baymule said:


> Remember when you build your fence, these are big dogs that need space. They are a working dog breed and may make good pets, but they may need a job to do. You and your beautiful gal are their "pack" and don't be surprised if they guard you. I'm guessing they are half grown now? Are they leash trained? They will need socializing, that means loading them in the back seat and taking them for a ride. I have found Tractor Supply to be a great excursion for my dogs. While I want them to guard my sheep, I don't want snarling, vicious dogs that bite people. So off to TSC we go, they get to spend time on the dog food and toy aisle and they enjoy it. I allow people to pet them and it goes a long way to socialize them. It sure makes it easier to take them to the vet. Loading up a 100+ pound unwilling dog ain't for the faint of heart.



Good grief!  I have tried to socialize the dogs, but I guess I have not tried hard enough.  So far they have not become hostile/aggressive toward us or other people.  Instead, they are full of energy.  Whenever we have let the dogs out together to try to play with them, i.e., pet them to get them to calm down, while petting on one of them, the other decides that giving me sugar in the form of licks to the face is what I want.  The dog I am trying to hold is wiggling like crazy, trying to get loose.

I failed to mention it at the time, but when I picked up Max from the vet after having him neutered, as we were walking to the truck I had him on a short leash.  He was so excited to be free, he decided to circle around me from the right, around in front of me, then around behind me.  Despite my pulling on the leash as hard as I could, Max still encircled me and then the leash tightened around my legs to where I could not walk.  Then I lost my balance and fell backward onto the sidewalk.  Fortunately I wasn't hurt.  Max decided to give me sugar.  I started laughing at the silliness of it.  But that is typical of how my efforts at socializing the dogs has gone.

I know the dogs are full of energy and currently have no way of getting that energy out of their system.  I had hoped once that they were spayed/neutered that by letting them run loose that they would work off that energy and then be calm here at our home.  Now I am learning that I need to pen them up for their own good and the good of the neighbors.  Treasa recommended that I exercise the dogs by have them chase the Gator while we drive all over our pastures.  I may try that to see how it works out.  I will probably need to have them on leashes so that they won't run off.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## farmerjan

So glad that things are looking up for James and his family.  I am sure that they really did appreciate you and your wife being there for emotional support and general help.
Glad you got home before the "white" set in!!!! We got about 3 inches here early Sat morning (this morning) and although the forecast and all was right... still is a shock to see everything covered over white again.  It is only early March so not out of the question... but I liked those 50 and 60 days and sun.... I am ready for SPRING....


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## Bruce

Hey that stuff looks like SNOW!! Good time to burn your brush pile.

Neutered or not those dogs are still little kids. Little kids have unbounded energy. We old people don't remember that far back. Yep, you'll need to get them some good running to use up the energy. 

They make leashes that attach to the dog's muzzle so when they pull they end up turning back. Not sure if that would have kept Max from tying you up though. He did a better job than Maxwell Smart could have ever accomplished! I'm glad you weren't hurt. 

Glad you were able to help James and Treasa out, how's he doing now?


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie

Bruce said:


> Hey that stuff looks like SNOW!! Good time to burn your brush pile.



Too late!  The snow all melted in one day!

As for James, I have not heard, so I assume he is doing better.  We will probably go back to NE Texas at the end of this month.


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## Baymule

I know your help is very much appreciated. It's hard to be down and unable to care for yourself and unable to do the things you normally do. Having someone like you and your wife is a huge help. 

I had to laugh at you getting wound up in the leash. I put Trip on a leash as a young dog and he immediately hit the end of it, yanking me backwards, flat out on the ground. Then he naturally thought I wanted to play and jumped up and down on me, giving lots of licks and kisses.


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