Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

[greybeard]

Bay..you forgot "frost bit and fell off"

(not really a stretch tho..it does happen..at least to cattle in the northern states--hooves too)

 

[goatgurl]

@Baymule you are so bad. for years I've told people that they are born with long ears but we trim them off and deep fry them as snacks. the looks of horror are priceless.
glad you had a great visit with your family LS and you and ds got all those post set. won't be near as hard to get the rest of them set and the wire stretched.

 

[Latestarter]

So yeah... I forgot there were two post holes that had been augered but never deepened and the posts set. They were down at the back/east corner, so I did that today. Then pounded in the final 2 T-posts for the back line and started on the T-posts for the North line, working west toward the house. Expect to be back out there tomorrow continuing. It's amazing how different (difficult) it's become to pound them... The ground has hardened up pretty good and it takes quite an effort to get them pounded in. It was easy when I started in the spring after all the wet weather we had. Not so much now.

The temp was decent today to start out... right about 84 degrees, but the humidity climbed until it was (100%) spitting rain, and I stopped as I was sopping wet with sweat. I keep hoping we'll get some real rain/moisture but we've been unlucky so far... It's been around me in all compass directions, but none here. Weather service is saying 40% chance tonight, 60% tomorrow, then next best chance at 50% for Friday. Checked the radar and there's nothing that looks to be headed for me tonight.

I returned the aluminum wire to TSC and went out to their yard and sure enough, found the double strand horse wire that y'all were speaking of. It was with the barbed wire & $60 bucks for the roll. Was surprised at how heavy that danged roll is too. I hope it's not wrapped under tension as I don't want it to unravel like a whip when I start to use it. I had a bunch of rebar, 18-24" length that I left in CO when I moved. Wish I had brought them as they would have worked great as tensioning bars... Oh well. I will post some pics when I get something finished.

 

[CntryBoy777]

The spool I had was wound tight, but not under a great amount of tension....plus, the stiffness of the wire will keep it from unwinding a great deal. In fact, I had to physically uncoil several rounds to get enough to reach from post to post. Just make sure you are holding the spool end when ya cut and stick it thru the legs of the spool....there will be a few loose strands, but it won't be a tangled mess for ya or too difficult to handle. I just kept telling myself as I toted it from place to place that it was getting Lighter....even tho it really didn't seem like it too much. If your ground is dry, I'd put it in the back of the PU and drive it around instead of toting it........

 

[greybeard]

There's lots of ways to un-roll wire--slick or barbed, without carrying the roll.
I prefer to leave the roll at one end of the fence and just pull the end to wherever it needs to go..no need carrying that whole roll down the fence line, like brother and I did when we were young, bulletproof, invisible and could still leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Not no, but heck no!

You can buy something or make something, tho I usually just set the roll on my fencing trailer on a bar that drops down in 2 slots I cut in rear of the trailer sides. My truck is a work truck, so I don't have a problem with just dropping something down in the holes in the side of the bed and putting a piece of pipe or a fence post in there to slide the roll into. It will scratch the paint some, but I just don't care.
If your property is relatively small acerage, you can make an unroller from an old pushmower handle or lawnmower frame or furniture dolly.
Use your imagination:
http://www.inventionconnection.com/BOOTHS/GRAPHICS/418d.jpg

https://www.farmshow.com/images/resize.php?w=300&img=/images/articles/20/3/23912_l.jpg

http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/photos/mvphoto2887.jpg
http://www.alafarmnews.com/afcfarmnews/images/stories/0907/0907 gates_roller.jpg

https://www.farmshow.com/images/resize.php?w=300&img=/images/articles/15/2/25737_l.jpg

https://www.farmshow.com/images/resize.php?w=300&img=/images/articles/32/3/19728_l.jpg

https://www.farmshow.com/images/resize.php?w=300&img=/images/articles/22/5/20155_l.jpg

http://www.diymetalfabrication.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/IMG_07461.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/95/b9/e9/95b9e9ec24e4f661b73fa93b8013ee54--rigs-atv.jpg

http://www.globalnasco.com/prod/images/products/4B/VC127624l.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YHY6cMDrNM0/hqdefault.jpg

If you're unrolling HT slick wire tho, just spend the $$ and get the spinning jenny. The mess created trying to do it without one is an instant teacher.

 

[Bruce]

If your ground is dry, I'd put it in the back of the PU and drive it around instead of toting it........

Or if you have a cart for your garden tractor. I toted all my fencing stuff that way (though the 330' roll of fence that didn't start up hill got dragged on an old plastic sled). Or you could probably make a skid from some plywood and a couple of 2 bys that you could pull with the GT.

It was easy when I started in the spring after all the wet weather we had. Not so much now.

Start the T-posts, then get out the 1,000' hose and "water them in", should be easy to pound after a few gallons each

 

[greybeard]

The ground is hard, the sun is hot and the air is heavy.
Welcome to East Texas LS!

My youngest son came by Sunday from Louisiana on his way back to his job in Houston. He's moving to Hou this month permanent and said he had some stuff to give me. Some field fence stretchers and a tee post driver. I told him I already had a couple of post drivers and he said "I don't care..I'm leavin it here and I never want to see another one as long as I live".

I'm awful proud of his accomplishments in his field of endeavor, but he's never fenced more than 2 acres in his whole life.

(he shoulda had to string a couple miles of concertina like I did decades ago and he'd know what misery really is)

 

[Bruce]

Good luck to your son @greybeard. Does he have a house? I just read today the many locations around the country where housing is way overvalued and the next bubble is likely. Houston and Austin were on the list.

 

[greybeard]

He's looking this week. Probably in the Kingwood/Woodlands area, since his wife has been able to laterally transfer to an office in Kingwood in her job as well. He works on the South West side of Houston, but has a pretty flexible schedule compared to her 9-5 hrs.
He spends lots of time out of state and 2-3 times/year is out of the USA.
He's in OKC this week. Dakotas next week.

He's some kind of guru with this outfit..
http://cameron.slb.com/products-and-services/valves-index

 

[Baymule]

I hope your son finds a house at a fair price. That part of Houston is in high demand. My sister lives one block from the Conroe city limits, on the Montgomery side. The farm road that her neighborhood is on, is so busy, there are certain times of the day that she doesn't go anywhere because of the traffic.