Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

[Latestarter]

Even after prolonged periods of wetness (like I recently experienced) the inside of the wood is sill dry. It will be wet on the outside of course but it will still burn. You just need to keep the fire going and hot long enough to burn through the wet stuff to get to eating the dry. Like Fred said, a garden rake should be more than sufficient if the ground and surrounding area is wet. When I burned the previous piles, I waited till dusk and dew time but it had been dry so I used a hose to soak the area adjacent to the fire and to cool the outer coals on the down wind side to prevent spread. While it's burning, I walk around collecting up anything else that needs to be added and throw that in there as well.

 

[Latestarter]

And as it happens, I'm just finishing up several hours of pouring rain... again... I once more have streams running across my property, front and rear. The area in the goat pen that had dried up some, enough for the goats to lay there without getting coated with mud, is now back to being mud.

On the bright side, I bought 4 packages of full sized spare ribs on sale yesterday, so took out a pkg of St Louis style ribs from the last sale (2 left) and cooked them up for lunch. I guess the main grocer around here; Brookshire's has started a new thing... 5% senior (over 60) discount on Tuesdays. Since their weekly ad ends on Tuesdays, I guess I'll try to make that my "sale ad" shopping date there.

Yesterday I started building the hay feeder. Got to the point of starting the actual fence "hanger" portion. Just too wet out there to do anything today. I think I'm going to need more poultry staples. I may have to adjust down the height of the roof. No problem, that's what circular saws were invented for. The really nice thing is I found a (slate stone) pallet that was right at the exact size I needed, basically brand new. You can see that I just needed to trim the edges off the boards. The boards laying on the platform are the hangers the fencing will be attached to.

I made the opposing side legs longer so I can put a sloped roof over it. I want to use the polycarbonate corrugated roof panels like his one from Home Depot

I want to build the roof so I can hinge it on the higher side and lift it open when I need to add hay. Haven't drawn up plans... just working it out in my head as I go. Seems to be my small project building "go-to" methodology... SWAG it (Scientific Wild Ass Guess). I do measure things as I go though...

 

[Mike CHS]

Is that a storm shelter or root seller or possibly both in that first picture?

 

[greybeard]

This covered feeder may give you an idea or 2. Took the picture at Producers in Bryan.

If I'd known you were going to build it, I'd given you enough corrugated stainless to roof it with. Probably have a couple of alumasteel sheets in the stack too, but, stainless is painless.

btw..I could see the river from my back porch early this morning and where we drove down toward the river was all under several feet of water since late yesterday. The little beaver dam we walked out and looked at was and probably still is under 5-6 ft of water. The river was within 1 ft of going over fm945 but crested this morning and has started down now.

http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=HGX&gage=CLDT2

 

[Latestarter]

Is that a storm shelter or root seller or possibly both in that first picture?

That's a storm cellar Mike. I've used it once and could NOT get Mel to join me. I guess it's good to have it should I ever need it. Guess it's the year for flooding down there GB... Did the flood reach as far as your main pond or stay back in that back pasture?

 

[CntryBoy777]

Like the hay feeder, so far....and sure looks like it will work really well. I may have to utilize that design myself. We started getting rain at 6pm yesterday evening and not moving out til noon tomorrow. I'd feel your pain, but my fingers are all "Pruned" up and from being in water for so long....

 

[greybeard]

Did the flood reach as far as your main pond or stay back in that back pasture?

It stayed down on the East side, but the local rain/runoff had already engorged the pond to several times it's normal size. Even tho the river has dropped several feet since yesterday morning, it is still on part of my property right now. We didn't go over on the North and Northeast side of the channel where the beaver dam was but that's mine too. A few minutes ago from my back porch, you can see the river water in the distance

The above is just water from the upper watershed, some of it from 90 miles north..it takes about 36 hours for it to swell the river here. In the above pic, the local water has already moved out, but I did take a couple pics of Sunday, Monday's local buildup with my cell phone.

Previous 2 days, buildup in my channels and the pond from local runoff was significant. All the rain that falls on a rectangle formed by Shaw road on the West, FM 945 on the North, my western portion, and about 200 yards South of Albright Lane has to run across my property and thru my pond to reach it's natural drainage destination..the river.
In the pic below, my shop's roof would be just to the right.

Panning further to the right, the pond.

Was this a bad one? Absolutely not. For comparison...
When you came down Albright Lane, you may have noticed about 1/2 way down, a single road off to your right with an old silver metal gate..probably closed. When last year's flood came, that road is where we paddled to and got out of the boat and left it tied to a tree.

 

[CntryBoy777]

It is a shame ya have to deal with that so soon after the swamping ya got from the hurricane.....do ya have much problem with gators there traveling the waters?

 

[greybeard]

no. Not active this time of year--water is too cold. They'll move just enough to stay on high ground, but otherwise avoid swimming unless absolutely necessary. They don't exactly hibernate, but become much less active in cold water, lose their appetite altogether, and basically just sit in mud or on the bottom of the water that is usually warmer than the surface. They hold their breath for extended periods of time, and just float up, grab a breath and submerge again.

 

[Latestarter]

Well, the southern boundary of the front line has settled in right over the top of me. It's been training right over me & alternating pouring rain so heavy I can't see the woods line at the back of the pasture, to light rain, enough to soak through your clothes in a very short time. I just got in from digging out redirection trenches to get some of the flow away from the carport. Sundown isn't ill almost 6:30, and it's darker than dusk @ 3pm...

Was already out and wet... should have checked the rain gauge... Looks like a bunch more developing back behind it so it's gonna be a wet night. Looks like it's well north of you GB... Perhaps you'll continue to drain and dry out some. I remember the gate you spoke of.

Not so much for Fred (or Mike) though... Looks to be right over them as well. Man has it been a wet spring... and it isn't even spring yet...