Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[farmerjan]

Just make sure you put electric on the wire... hi tensile wire is useless unless it is HOT... and if they panic, and get their heads in it, somehow get tangled in it, they can strangle or can hang themselves. Have lost several animals to being chased/harassed by coyotes, had them try to go through or over the high tensile, 8 strands or more, so fairly close together... got their BACK feet/legs tangled when they tried to go over it... and it will wrap around them if they are kicking and such since it will stretch some, then snap back...one hung by his back legs until he died from being mostly upside down..... one got her head through, somehow got a 2nd wire tangled and kept fighting trying to get out and strangled herself... neither of these places had any electric on them... I will never use any high tensile for any animals except as a last resort for a single strand as an electric cross fence for some rotational grazing.. it is too hard to wrap for brace wire, cannot bend it back on its self easily like at an end post, most times... it stretches and if not "hot" the cows will put their heads through and keep pushing and can work their way through it, and so will the sheep...... it is not a deterrent like woven wire or even electric fencing... you will have to put some flags/surveyor's tape on it so they will remember it is there... visual.....and if it snaps/breaks while stretching it... and yes it can break... it will hurt you if it springs and catches your body.

Have taken a few deer out of it also over the years...

Some people like it... many do not. Me, NO..... personal experience.

 

[Ridgetop]

DS1 said tht he was going to use regular wire since it is cheaper. I told him you don't like hi-tensile and would contact you about the problems you have with it. Glad he changed his mind about it.

DS1 had an upset stomach yesterday and associated problems so did not work on the fencing. Feeling better today and DS1 and DH will do the auger today for the plants. We were at Brookshires and a landscaper told DH that was how he planted shrubs when working. The man was in a motorized shopping cart so . . . ? However, it sounded good to DH and since he loves to use his newly repaired tractor (and took a week to dig up a 2' x 4' bed)
I am in favor of him doing it this way. It wil also preclude him ended up in a motorized shopping cart. I will have him use the auger in several areas around the house where I plan to plant other shrubs that I have not purchased yet. .

I will use the dolly today to take the many boxes of jars to the pump shed. I also got my electric canner out of the office closet and it can go out there with another box of equipment I found. Took the 2 garment bag style suitcases out already and was going to take the large suitcase out but remembered I will need to pack for a month in California in another 2 weeks. Gradually I will collect everything that needs to be stored for annual use and move it to the pump shed. I need to add my 2 water bath canners to the list of stuff to bring home from California.

The large plastic boxes/bins of animal supplies will go in the barn feed room once we clean it out and repair the wall tht is falling off. LOL DH found a wooden shed at Costco that is 8x12 for $4000 INSTALLED he wants to get. He wants to stick it on the side of the feed room the wall is coming off of. Not sure how that will work, but I will leave it to him. The feed room is not too small, it is about 10x10 or 10x12'. It is just crowded with old junk that needs to be removed. There is no roof on it - it is open to the rest of the barn which causes it to get very dusty. After we repair the exterior wall, clear it out and put in shelving, it will be fine. What we actually need is a hay barn.

The Catalpa trees are blooming - clouds of white blossom, and the Purple Martins are nesting in the porches and carport. 5 nests so far - the males keep bringing stuff to repair them and the females keep rejecting their offerings. Wildflowers are everywhere in the fields and along the freeways, and the entire pasture is covered with blooming white clover heads. I need to plant some red clover too. Spring is here and summer is coming!

DH wants to get a cheap pool for the grandkids. Maybe I will let DH get this swimming pool next time we are at Costco. It is not a Doboy type with metal sides and plastic liner, more a canvas bag suspended on rails. 12 x 20 x 48"h with a sand filter and solar heating for $599. I don't think we need any solar heating on that size pool in Texas. The thought of floating around in a pool of cool water after a day working in the heat is appealing. We can fill it from the well. And the grandkids will love it. After summer it comes apart and you can store it. DS3 has had several of them over the years. Still thinking about it. $599 is cheaper than the $1200 swing set with slide and playhouse he is eying for the grandkids and WE can use the pool. I think we can put up a swing with a rope and a piece of 2x12. The only grandkids coming over will be Maysie (7) for the summer and Annabel (4). Annabel is already a climber and being autistic DS1 and I are not sure whether a 2 story climbing structure is safe for her. Elizabeth will be out for 2 weeks but has to go back for July 4 scout camp. Next year we hope to persuade DD1 to let her come out for at least a month and have DD1 join us for a camping trip around the state and north.

 

[Ridgetop]

DH and DS1 brought the tractor and auger around to plant the roses I bought. Beats using a shovel. They got 11 holes dug in abut half an hour. Took more time to reposition the tractor than to dig the holes.
Positioning the tractor . . .
Setting the auger . . .

Almost done . . .
OOPS!
Yes, we hit the water line. After carefully sighting it in from the front shutoff DS1 and I situated the auger dead center over the line. Luckily it is a Pex feed not galvanized or copper. BUT after 3 trips to Sulphur Springs to Lowes for parts it is still leaking and DS1 is still working to repair it. He is a bit peeved. Hopefully we get it fixed tonight so we can get a shower, otherwise we will have to use water from the new well to wash up in. LOL

While DS1 was fixing the pipe, a fellow came by and asked if we wanted the barn roof coated. He offered to do it for $450 (the barn is 40 x 60') so DH said OK. He and his son went to get supplies and then coated the roof. Said the reflective coating will lower the temperature under the roof. DH got a bid on the house and the fellow is coming back to do the house next week.

While all that was going on I planted the rosebushes in the holes that were done. I had to get down on my hands and knees and could barely get up! We have 2 more rosebushes to plant (one already has the hole dug LOL). Then 4 more holes to auger for the 2 gardenias and the lily bed. That will be enough for this year. Next year I'll try planting another couple fruit trees and maybe do a garden. This year DH's 3 tomato bushes in the back yard will have to be the extent of the garden.

DH has gone on another Lowes run for more parts. I sat on the front porch for a while - I was too tired to move. I admired the Catalpa trees in bloom and the "snow" on the ground under them.

The front porch is a lovely place to sit - but I think I will invest in some noise cancelling headphones f we plan to sit there much. LOL

 

[Baymule]

Y'all are getting so much done! Tractor auger beats a shovel, any day! Too bad about hitting the water line.

 

[farmerjan]

Hitting the water line..... OOPS..... DS and the guys putting in the posts did it here too.... and with NO DAM# SHUT OFFS in these lines, had to turn off the well pump and all for several hours trying to get it fixed... I can sympathize......took a couple trips and all that to dig it up .... especially since they are not sure what direction it came from since no one is around to remember any of that and doug never wrote anything down or anything... DS is STILL trying to find where the pipe goes across the driveway without having to dig most of it because most of the pipes he has managed to find are not where any reasonable person would have run them... it has been totally CRAZY.....
My sincere sympathies....

 

[SageHill]

There’s one thing for sure - if there’s a waterline, it’s not IF it will be hit, it’s WHEN it will be hit.

 

[Baymule]

Did your heroes get the water line fixed?

 

[fuzzi]

My parents bought a newly constructed house once. My dad was hanging tools in the garage and put a hole through a pipe behind the wall, a pipe that he said never should have been placed there. I believed him.

But he fixed it, Greatest Generation Jack-of-All-Trades...

 

[Ridgetop]

4 hours and 4 trips to Sulphur Springs for parts and it was fixed in time for showers. The line was Pex which we congratulated ourselves would be easier to fix that metal. Not true. Apparently Pex can stretch and then snap back into place so after cutting and putting in connectors 3 times DS1 finally got it fixed. DH was a big help keeping up morale! He made the last Lowes run.

 

[Baymule]

And you wisely stayed in the house and let the men do it……..