Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Ridgetop]

Yep! They did a great job all by their lonesomes.

Yesterday we finished drilling the holes for the last 3 shrubs, and the lilly bed. I bought 6 one gallon Easter lillies at Lowes marked dow to $2 each. They were still blooming and had unopened buds on them. I am not sure how they will do in Texas, but at $12 it was worth a chance. When I went to plant them I found that there were actually 2 plants (corms) in each pot so I separated them in the bed. I planted them on the northeast corner of the house - they will get sun part of the day but shade sometimes too. Hopefully they will survive and bloom every year. I also got 2 roses and DH's tomatoes planted. We need to get some 5' concrete wire and make tomato cages for them They're the Better Boy variety and I always had good luck with them in CA. My knees were so sore from sitting back on my heels, not just kneeling, that I could hardly walk. Luckily I had a tuna casserole ready to go so just popped that in the oven. A hot shower, 3 courses of aspirin, and a couple hours on the heating pad and I was able to hobble out and watch TV with the guys.

This morning I got out and planted the final rose that went in the water line hole. The soil was too saturated the previous day. Then I planted the two gardenias, got the 2 sprouted onions from the kitchen and stuck them in pots with planter mix. I went out to dig up the last spot in the yard for the final plants - 2 red bell peppers, an Early Girl tomato and a Sweet Basil plant. Luckily DS1 saw me struggling and came over to pickax the area for me. I got a lot of the grass shaken out of the clumps but it began to rain. The rain came in fast and furious with thunder and lightening, so we all ran back in the house where we discover that the window in DS1's room on the north side was open and the rain had blown in all over everything in that little space of time!

DS1 and DH had been about to go out and auger the post holes, but will have to do it tomorrow. DH has another appointment to have a skin cancer removed at the Greenville VA tomorrow morning, so DS1` will get everthing lined up if the rain stops. He is in a hurry to get the first pasture fenced in, the gates hung (2 8' gates apparently instead of th 16') qne the dog V's. We need to move most of the ewes in there. He wants to move this year's ambs back with the ewes and divide up some of the other areas with electric fencing for a breeding pen. We need to get the yearlings, and ewes that didn't take last year or lost their lambs, in with Rommel for September/October lambs.
We also need to redo the TeePee shelters. The lambs were all bunched around the pump shed during the massive downpour although their shelter was available and empty! We will need a shelter in the first pasture too. I think we will put up a Baymule Pallet Palace for them. I have been saving feed sacks for the pallet walls but we won't need those until next winter.

We only have a couple weeks before we have to head for California.

 

[fuzzi]

We need to get some 5' concrete wire and make tomato cages for them

I use cattle panels for tomato trellises.

 

[Ridgetop]

That garden looks great!

We went to the tire store today and they found a screw in the tire that keeps going low. They fixed it but we have to get new tires for the gooseneck trailer and the car. DH said we would take it to Greenville and get the new tires next week when he gets some of his stitches out.

Today DH had the 3rd skin cancer removed. It was a MOHS procedure where they take one layer at a time. We were there for 4 hours. Then the doctor sewed up the HUGE hole. He wasn't sure he could get it closed but did. DH is not allowed to do any heavy work and can't help DS1 with the tractor. The area stitched closed is so large that the doctor is afraid DH will pull out the stitches. He can't drive for a week. Brian might be available to help set the gate posts and I said that if DS1 drives the tractor and auger, I can help position the auger. DH says he is "fine" and can do it with no problem but we have taken away his car keys. We didnt get home from the 0:30 am appointment in Greenville until 5:45 pm!

 

[Ridgetop]

Rained Like crazy yesterday but today it was sunny and nice. DS1 and I went out with the trctor to put in the gate posts. DH insisted he could coe and heop but we told him no way was he allowed t coe ut. DD2 came over with Annabel so he stayed with them. Annabel was able to play in her sandbox today, drew with sidewalk chalk and relaxed in her new chair.
First posthole dug, gravel in, post set and braced to plumb.
First we used the auger then DS1 used the old (antique?) post hile digger that telescopes to 8' long. The auger only digs to about 30" then DS1 had to dig the rest of the hole down to 4' deep. A bag of gravel brought it to 42" then DS1 set the post. We plumbed it, set the braces, dumped in some dirt then mxed a bag of concrete and put that in. Tomorrow we will finish filling the holes. One down - lots more to go . . . .
Even little Annabel got into the act. Unfortunately she thought she was supposed to put the dirt BACK IN the hole. DD2 helped DS1 measure for the second post. This post is the 8" diameter gate post. There will be a 16' opening with gates. DH and Annabel sat and watched. DS1 and I set the 3rd post for the H brace then I went in and made supper whie DS1 picked up the tools. Tomorrow he will take the tractor, the truck, the tools, concrete, posts etc. to the other end of the fence, stopping in the middle of the run to set a terminal post to strengthen the run of PVC T-posts. We will have a gate at each end of the 450' run, with a dog V at each end too. One gate wil be 16', the other one may just be a walk through instead of a drive through.

 

[Baymule]

Annabel and your DH look so cute sitting in the sunshine.
Hint on 16’ gate. If you are going to put a wheel on the gate, you have to allow room for the wheel to open the gate both ways, or else the wheel won’t clear the post that you latch it to and will only open one way. Ask me how I know.

I am watching this with great interest. I have fields that I want to cross fence and the sheep and goat wire is frightfully expensive.

 

[murphysranch]

Hubs has yet another MOH's this coming Wednesday am. Right next to his tear duct. Then an afternoon appt with an ocular plastic surgeon to repair the wound. Never had to have a PS on any of his other MOHs. He was a surfer for many years, and is paying the price now.

 

[Ridgetop]

Back in the day we never worried about sunscreen, the good tan was the thing. I remember smearing mysef with oil so I could broil. Now we are all aware of the dangers and use sunscreen but too late for a lot of us. DH worked in the sun all day as a lineman, and on weekends we used to drive 5 hours to the Colorado River to water ski all Saturday and Sunday, then drive home for work on Monday. Paying the price now.

Just came in from checking on the rosebushes and tomatoes. Everything looks good. Stood in a fire ant colony and came in for the shaker of poison. The fire ants are waking up so I went all over the yard looking for them and scattered the poison bait for them. Probably will have bite marks on my foot tonight. I planted the last of the vegetables today - 2 red bell peppers, an Early Girl tomato and a Sweet Basil. Took several hours to fork up plot 30" x 60"! I finally had to use the mattock on it to break it up. Then get the grass out of it, put a full bag of veggie mix and mixed that in, them planted the veggies with a bit of blood and bone meal. Then watered them in with Vitamin B. That will kick off the roots to grow. The other 3 tomatoes are Better Boy which are my favorite ones to grow in the garden. Better Boy is an indeterminate variety which means they just keep flowering and setting fruit until frost. Not sure how they will do here in texas but n cfornia when I had my good garden (down in good SF Valley soil) the tomatoes were huge, sweet, and plentiful.

Had to stop and go help DS1 with the gate posts and H braces. Actually I got an SOS call for ice water and plenty of it - Brought him a gallon with ice, and a giant glass of lemonade. Then he had me stay to help him plumb the posts. We were going to mix and pour the concrete for the gate post, H brace posts, and the center deadman post, but he noticed that the last 3 postholes had about 12" of water in them so we have to let the water dry up first. When he put in the end posts he ran a string line 460' from the posts he set yesterday. The T-posts were out of alignment so he wants to redo the posts. He said he will do that tomorrow while waiting for the water to soak into the ground. The postholes are full of straight clay. Almost makes me wish I was a potter! LOL More pix tomorrow - got to cook supper.

 

[Ridgetop]

Along with the tractor auger here are the tools DS1 is using to ut in our posts. The only tool that is newer is the standard shovel 3rd from the left. The thing on the far left is a manual auger with a handle that telescopes out to 13' long. It takes a cross piece on top to turnscrew the digger into the earth. The blades have to be unlocked to dump the dirt out. This was my father-in-law's post hole digger. He used to work for LA Department of Water and Power in the underground section. Started there when he came home from the navy in WWII. Back then they dug all the sewers etc. by hand. When they went to mechanical digging equipment the hand diggers were tossed out and the workmen could take them if they chose. The long shovel with the round blade is another old tool from that era that belonged to Daddy. The handle on that one is about 8' or 9' long. The round blade scoops the loose dirt out of a narrow posthole. Of course, the metal digging bar on the far right is the same as is used today. That one is about 8' long and has a flattened knob on the other end for tamping/compacting in soil and concrete around the posts. Ever since DS1 was big enough and strong enough to use that hand auger it has been his favorite hole digger. He said that when we were ackng to come to Texas he personally loaded that tool on the trailer to make sure that he would have it here. LOL It is so heavy I can hardly carry it. Here is the hand auger extended. As the hole gets deeper you can unpin the handle and it will extend 2 times until a maximum length of 13'. That way as the hole gets deeper you are able to extend the tool and remain upright to operate it. It takes a lot of strength to turn it. Then you have to unlock the blades to dump out the dirt. In our case is is straight red Texas clay.
The hole he is digging is almost 5' deep for the gate post. The tractor auger only digs 3' down. The tractor auger makes a 12" hole which is big enough for the 8" gatepsts. The hand auger only makes a 7' hole so DS1 has to use the digging bar to loosen the soil around the hole and remove it. It takes a long time to do the gate posts.

Tally: First pasture all posts are dug, and posts in them. 3 of them are set in concrete and the dirt filled back in. 4 are waiting for the water to drain into the clay soil, then concrete poured, and back filled in after it is set. Once they are finished DS1 will attach the H brace pieces, do the guy wires and make the 2 LGD V shaped pass throughs. The final chore will be threading the wire through the post holes, tightening the wires, tying the wire ends off, and electrifying the fence. DS1 said this is his prototype. The next pasture posts will be tweaked as needed. DS1 set the last 3 posts himself. He is going to rest his shoulder muscles tomorrow since they are aching from turning the hand auger. He also got sunburned in the last 3 days.

We also have to draw up the pasture plans. We need to submit them for the rotational grazing fencing grant. Now that we have well water run to the barn and various pastures, we are ready to submit the interior pasture fencing plans.

There is a meeting on May 13 of an organization I am going to join It is a rotational grazing and pasture management organization with ties to TAMU and various other government facilities. I heard about it at the Duncan OK show and gave my contact info to the lady. She passed it on and Julie stopped by today to meet us and tell us about it. Very excited about it and meeting a lot of other people who are doing rotational grazing.

Rotational grazing and multi speces grazing is instrumental in parasite prevention. on that note, I talked to a couple people who said that White Dorpers are much more parasite resistant than the black head Dorpers. Super happy to hear that.

 

[Baymule]

Thanks for letting me know about the rotational grazing meeting! I called her immediately and she emailed the information to me. She said there is probably a chapter in my more immediate area, but doesn’t know how to contact them, so I’ll get started on this with the meeting in your area. I’ll be there on the 13th!

 

[Ridgetop]

DS1 decided to dump dry concrete into the flooded postholes around the posts and stir it in. That is how DH and I usually set posts. DS1 likes to mix the concrete in the wheelbarrow and pour it in. He decided that instead of waiting for the holes to dry out, he would do the concrete this way. He put 3 bags in the 8" gate post hole, and 2 bags on each of the other posts. He dug the holes 4' deep so 2 bags isn't overkill. As he got home it started raining so he put the concrete in the holes in the rain. He will start building the H and the dog gates tomorrow. He was able to get most of what he needs but had to order a couple items from Amazon.

The fellow that coated the barn roof came back today to do the roof on the house. They had to trim a branch that was rubbing on the roof. They had to do some sort of special wash on the roof before they could coat it. He said he also does gutters so that may be in the plans. The water drains off the roof and has made a ditch around the house and a large standing puddle at the foundation of the house. We need to do some drainage work. They finished just as the rain started. The coating on the roof is supposed to lower the temperature inside. DH also wants to add more nsulation in the attic.

DH was supposed to water the plants and vegetables today but he lucked out with the rain. LOL I washed off the glider frame ready to paint it but the roof guy showed up. Then it rained. I'll get it done next time it is sunny and minimal wind. There is no rush to do it. I am thinking seriously about screening in the front porch. It is a good size and would be a nice sitting area, especially if we replace the 2 overhead lights with outdoor fans.

I did several loads of laundry, cleaned the carpet in a couple areas, dusted and cleaned the bathroom, emptied all the trash and cans, then installed another pullout under the kitchen sink. I have a basket there for my potatoes but 20 lbs. of potatoes doesn't slide easily on a shelf. LOL Nw I can get to the ptatoes without having to lift the heavy basket out of the cupboard. Once that was finished I fixed the trash bin pullout. There is a slight lip on the bottom of that cabinet that causes the pullout to catch. It has been annoying all of us ever since I installed it. I unscrewed the front attachment, stuck a thick piece of cardboard underneath, and screwed it back down. It helped. I will remove the entire pullout eventually and install wooden strips instead of the cardboard. I was going to use wooden paint stirrers, but they were too long and I didn't feel like bothering to cut them off in the rain. I will do it another time, probably when we finally make the center island. All in all, several jobs accomplished today.