Coffee anyone ?

[Weldman]

Got a quote from a company 206 miles away to get ICF blocks to build my house, they quoted me about $10 a mile to deliver them. I can get a 40k lb dozer delivered for cheaper. Looks like I will be pulling my service bed off my truck to pull my own f_king trailer and get it myself. Was quoted $6k from another company from Colorado 500 miles away. Nope we aren't playing this game.
Originally got my CDL cause I never wanted to question myself if I could pull it or not, but to only have a question of can I afford it and do I need it. Also got it as a backup for just in case I needed a job. Looks like it's paying off.

Snowing this morning, will be in the mid 50's today

 

[Baymule]

How much does one block weigh and how many fit on a truck? Or rather, how many can you legally load and not be over loaded?

 

[Weldman]

How much does one block weigh and how many fit on a truck? Or rather, how many can you legally load and not be over loaded?

Weight isn't the factor in this one, it's the fact it will fill up a trailer. Each block weighs around 10 to 12 lbs about 400 blocks I need. I can legally hold 24k on the trailer yet the GVW per manufacturers specs on the truck is 30k between truck, trailer and load. Thinking of getting a "corn queen" as they are called and are dirt cheap ($2k to $8k) to pull this trailer, cause future loads could range in the 24k weight range and I wouldn't have to rip the service bed off. Corn queen is a medium duty truck (despite what a light duty truck is advertised as) that stays on the farm of class 6 or 7. Rare ones are class 8 such as Volvo's, but most commonly International trucks are corn queens.

For today's lesson a light duty truck is class 1 through 5 i.e. F150 through F550 (yes they are advertised as heavy duty ) medium duty is class 6 and 7 i.e. F600 through F750 or unfamiliar rigs International 4300 through 4900 and lastly class 8's are your 10 wheelers and up.

My CDL says only thing I can't haul is hazardous materials which is anything over 100 something gallons of hazardous materials such as diesel and no rig full of snot nosed kids (no school buses).

 

[fuzzi]

Meet Gerald...

If you're new here, let me introduce Gerald.

Gerald is a Hereford cross in Herefordshire. He eats grass. He does a pat. He lies down at noon every Friday in exactly the same spot, which the farmer has stopped finding remarkable and started finding quietly reassuring.

He arrived in September 2022 at five months old, rode the trailer without complaint, assessed his forty acres for ninety seconds, and walked directly to the south corner. He has never reconsidered the south corner. The south corner now has seven wildflower species, six bumblebee species, a dung beetle population, and a lapwing pair that have nested on the east hedgerow every spring since Gerald decided it was the right corner.

He has grazed through fog so thick the farmer couldn't see him from the gate, three consecutive days of horizontal November rain, a hailstorm that sounded like "the field was being used for target practice," and a minus-six overnight with the water trough iced solid. Gerald's response to all of it: grazed.

The vet visited. Cortisol normal. "Most contented animal I've seen, or he's transcended caring either way."

The man who walks past at 7:15 paused last Tuesday for the first time in four years. He told his wife it made him feel like something was just getting on with it. Without drama. Without complaint.

Gerald doesn't know about the man.

Gerald doesn't need to.

Gerald is reliable for the field.

The field is the audience.

A documentary crew came. Gerald ignored them.

A parliamentary footnote is being prepared. Gerald doesn't know about the parliamentary footnote.

Dennis is arriving from Ross-on-Wye. Gerald will graze.

The south corner is fine.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2039312712509853884

 

[drstratton]

Well, the allergies morphed into a possible URI. I was running a fever last night, went to bed at 8pm. Fever broke at some point, now I'm just dealing with removing as much "stuff" from my head and chest as I can.

Caleb has been good, considering he's only had brief yard walks recently.

I hope you feel better quickly and it doesn't turn into a sinus infection.

 

[fuzzi]

I hope you feel better quickly and it doesn't turn into a sinus infection.

One of my jars of buckwheat honey crystalized, so I've been scraping out a spoonful daily, and eating it.

 

[drstratton]

One of my jars of buckwheat honey crystalized, so I've been scraping out a spoonful daily, and eating it.

I'm glad you're using it. I hope it helps.
Just an FYI, when you want to liquify it, just set it in a pan of warm water, below 110°, it will take awhile, but it will maintain its integrity.

 

[Weldman]

April Fool's Day is cancelled this year as no made-up prank could match the unbelievable sh_t going on in the real world right now.

 

[drstratton]

We have to travel to the wetside tomorrow (yuk) and it's supposed to be snowing all day on Snoqualmie pass. We'll be coming home tomorrow too, I'm just hoping it doesn't dump too much on us. There's a 50% chance going over, then it jumps to over 70% by the time we come back.

 

[CLSranch]

I've been looking at my nemesis, thistles

I hope you didn't go and do to much.
I noticed an awfully lot of them here late last year. I grabbed the spade yesterday and decided to start. After a dozen or so in a 10X10' little spot and noticing even more right next to that I decided the 8 year old will get to play with the machete this summer.