Category: General/Miscellaneous (Page 3 of 5)

Can’t decide? It will default here.

Hola Lola

June 25, 2024 / WJG / 0 Comments

Yes, “Hola” technically means hello but I am altering the meaning to say goodbye to Lola, our loving furry companion for the past 15+ years. He, (yes HE) has been with us since a bitty kitty and spent his first dozen years as an indoor cat in Lakeville. We’d let him out on the deck for some outdoor adventure, where he’d manage to snag an occasional songbird and usually always figured out a way to escape.

His life in captivity was altered drastically when we moved to the farm and he spent the past few years exclusively as an outdoor cat – hunting and exploring whenever he cared to. However, he spent a majority of the time curled up on the front porch napping with his buddy (and nephew) Luther.

His passion was raiding my garage and seeking where I had hidden my work gloves. He would drag them out and distribute them around the yard and driveway. It was a little game for us.

Prior to that, he was notorious for finding little bags of stuff and scatter them around as well. Everything from sewing bobbins, pins and metal sewing machine parts in Sherry’s sewing and monogramming shop to my nuts and bolts in the garage. If they were in a baggie, they were fair game.

He never tore anything up or damaged them in any way. It was simply a game of hide and seek for this prankster.

And, I will add that since he moved outdoors, we definitely do NOT miss the gobs of fluffy white fur all over the house – choking the fans and air filters.

Sadly, Lola passed unexpectedly on 6/20/2024.

When Sherry got home from the goat farm that afternoon, we jumped in the pool to cool off. While soaking, we were discussing Jackson’s last days as he gets feebler and feebler as his rear legs are beginning to fail him. As an 18+ YO Border Collie, his longevity is already somewhat astounding.

Wouldn’t you know a half hour later, as we were feeding everybody, we noticed Lola was in distress. He is nearly as old as Jack and had his tongue hanging way out and appeared to be struggling to breathe. We felt so helpless. He’d still move around trying to get comfortable so Sherry grabbed a box for him to curl up in. Once he was placed in the box, he moved around a bit but ended up laying down on his side but his head was against the side staring up at us with his eyes wide open. I’m not sure if his eyes were seeing anything at that point but he was as loved as he could be. He was in there maybe 3 minutes and let out 2 (almost) “chirps” and he was gone. Thankfully, he passed quickly. Afterward, we repositioned him in a natural way and closed his eyes.

Lola is the first loved pet to be buried in our pet cemetery. The other burial there was the feral momma cat that left us with her hyper-breeding offspring barn cats. So for Lola, she got a burial with full feline honors.

R.I.P. Lola.

Treework by Nature

June 14, 2024 / WJG / 0 Comments

This is at least the 3rd time I was puzzled about how to get a tree/limb down SAFELY (without me ending up paralyzed). Plus, I also seem to always deal with these when I am on my own (with no one around to call 9-1-1).

This limb while not all that large was snapped off and hung up in other branches between the garage and the house.

I noticed this up there a few days ago. It’s not that big but could definitely injure someone falling from high in the tree so I contemplated my options.

To saw it clean, I might have been able to reach it with my tallest ladder set up in the back of my truck bed backed up to the tree. But there is nothing worse than trying to make a cut with a chainsaw while precariously perched high in the air.
The other option was to try to throw a rope around it to pull it down. To get close enough to it would also require the ladder in the pickup trick but wouldn’t be nearly as high and a simple throwing motion is better than operating a chainsaw.

Luckily, nature AGAIN took care of it for us, as it was laying on the ground when we got up this morning.

Although the “nub” will still bother my sense of order and should be cleaned up, the fact it is 40′ in the air will temper my urge to get after it.

As with the large dead pine across the field from the 1st above photo, that I sawed nearly through and ended up binding my saw. I was able to pound a wedge in to free the saw but the tree remained standing. Rather than accept any more risk, I simply backed away and left it there at the edge of our field. In a matter of 2 or 3 days, the wind did the rest. Once it fell, I retrieved my wedge and cut it up for firepit fuel. These have already been used for a few Viking Funerals for dead critters.

The other was another large pine that blew against it’s neighbors on the edge of the woods behind the shop. My saw was too small for the trunk so a neighbor friend came over with a larger saw to saw it free from the root ball still mostly embedded in the ground. We then chained it to his truck but there was no way we were pulling it down – it stayed hung up in the trees. My next idea was to wait until haying season and try to pull it down with the tractor we hired for that. Since haying season was still months away though, I wasn’t keen about keeping everything away from there. Luckily, the wind dropped the tree to the ground a day later. With the return of high tick season, I tabled further work there and still have plenty to cut up when cooler weather returns in the fall. There is also a nice oak that the pine blew into. It didn’t kill it (yet) but that has a notable lean to it as well and I’ll be harvesting that one for heating wood as the ample pine available is only burned outside in the firepit.

Fun times!

Weird weather (apps)

June 14, 2024 / WJG / 0 Comments

Our relative remoteness and new “occupation” necessitates keeping a close eye on the sky. However, the outlook from various angles vary widely so we are never sure what to expect.

Here’s the current forecast from this site, using an RSS feed from (I believe) Mountain View, 20 miles to our south – even though I labelled it Hartshorn.

And, here is Weather Undergrounds forecast for the same period.

Our weather radio (that keeps me up at night blaring alarms for RAIN every 20 minutes) sits inches to the left of my office monitor. That will give me the direct NWS forecasts and usually provides a 3rd option of what could happen.

Then, we have the local radio stations providing additional views. Here, I sometimes trip myself up by streaming WDGY or another MN station and the forecast initially startles me until I realize that forecast isn’t for our locale.

Then, we have the ever present YouTube weather porn industry continually forecasting Armageddon for Missouri that rarely materializes. Here, thankfully, the risk skirts just to our north so I guess I should be concerned. Also, Sherry left this morning for MN for a nieces wedding and will be driving directly through the red blob of horror. But, she left early enough that she should easily get through it before everything heats up but I’ll keep praying.

I guess it’s not a big deal. I can just digest it all, take a look outside and usually get a pretty good idea of what will happen and when – and then we plan activities and tasks accordingly.

My BIG hang up right now is having a convertible that doesn’t exactly have a trustworthy hydraulic system for raising/lowering the roof. I’ve got it open now and I think I could close it if needed but am not certain so it ONLY rolls out of the garage if there is NO chance of any rain whatsoever. It looks like it is staying inside today.

Cicada Serenade

May 19, 2024 / WJG / 2 Comments

I expected much worse. I envisioned daily sessions with the leaf blower clearing pathways through the swarms of decaying carcasses. I’ve heard some parts of this county ARE experiencing such an infestation but just a minor nuisance for us so far. Luckily, we are on the very western edge of one of the 2 varieties making their presence known, so not as bad as further east of here.

I heard a local entomologist explain that the infestation is directly related to the conditions in that area when they went underground. If there is something favorable for them in that area, they’ll be back when their cycle tells them to emerge. I heard of one farmer a little west of Houston, MO who is inundated with them and the farm across the road (their in-laws), has no such problem.

We still find bugs (dead or still alive but dormant) everywhere. I had one land on my bare back and sort of creeped me out when I brushed it away and it was the size of my thumb. Overall though, they are quite docile – just waiting to die. However, now it appears that even the chickens have had their fill of them.

Even though they are not swarming everywhere, they are still plentiful. This young tree across the driveway exploded in fleeing bugs when my errant frisbee shot disturbed them. A huge cloud took flight and then returned to the tree. Notice the little holes? Once they have mated, they’ll find such a tree and embed their eggs in the holes. They keep digging and burying eggs in such a way spiraling up the tree until they are empty. Then, they find a quiet place to die – which are the ones we see on the buildings or any other place to perch.

What is measurable however is the noise. I previously heard that it will be deafening but it took us a while to recognize it. I expected the high pitched buzzing noise we’d hear high in the trees late in the summer in MN. But this is more of a frog sounding chirp you’d normally hear in the evening but this blares all day long. It’s similar to the tinnitus we are adjusting to in our advanced years – just much louder. And it dies down at sunset – opposite of the frog chirping. (We’ve learned the frogs “peep” down here – unlike MNs ribbit or croaking).

Here is an example of the din from our morning walk with the dogs. This is along the front edge of our back woods and sadly the phone video doesn’t do it justice. Turn it UP! For perspective, you’ll hear Sherry calling the dogs towards the end of the clip.

What is drastically different from normal is the cicadas drone on all day long but quiet down at sundown. That’s when you can hear the actual crickets and frogs.

But, in a few more weeks, we’ll be done with them. The new generation (larvae) will be burrowing into the ground for the next several years before it is their turn to emerge for their final 2 weeks of fun.

The Swimmin’ Hole

May 16, 2024 / WJG / 0 Comments

As I mentioned earlier, We are filling our pool using rainwater this year.

I have also tied in the back of the house since this picture.

The good?

Natural (ample over time) water source.
Doesn’t tax the well and pump.
Water is naturally softened and balanced in PH/alkali content.

The bad?

Until the pool is nearly full and the pump/filtration can be activated, the untreated collected water is stagnating in the sun. In the interim, I set up a simple sump pump to run through the filter system to keep the water moving during this filling stage.
Collected water is (or quickly turns) greenish brown. Much appears to be sediment that can be brushed/swept away. Once the level reaches the filter basket and the main pump is active, a thorough vacuuming of all pool surfaces should greatly clear up the murkiness and the chemicals should do the rest.

Update 20240518: With the pool now full (mostly pump/well at 1″ per hour – as the forecasted deluges never materialized), I am switching into clean up mode. The problem is it appears our 1 year old pump is now bad. After a few weeks of collecting stagnant untreated water, it was quite putrid originally. Once I realized our pump wasn’t pumping, I swapped in a sump pump I had on hand and forced that through the pump/filter housing. After a few hours, the water cleared up considerable. However, what I really need to do is thoroughly vacuum every surface to get all of the pollen and other sediments that landed in the pool along with the seeds from the various trees. However, I can’t do that until I have a working pump running from the debris basket to the pump/filter and that won’t be delivered for a few days yet.

Damn. And we’ll be getting close to 90 tomorrow.

UPDATE 20240616:
The completed pool project is working wonderfully. Here is my final solution.

Besides making MacGyver insanely jealous, there is a method to the madness. All rainwater from the gutters flows into the pool via the elevated pipe in the middle. It is elevated because that is a regular walking path. Then, starting on the far right, that gray object beneath the ladder is where the water is supposed to flow back into the pool after the pump. However, it wasn’t until the pool was filled that I discovered this was plugged (maybe a mud dauber) so I bypassed this and have the hose from the pump (white hose beneath ladder) flowing directly into the pool. I then installed a valve below the new filter basket so I can work on pump/filter issues without the pool draining down to the bottom of the basket. The nearly horizontal hose traversing right to left is for when we flush (backwash) the sand filter and discharges close to the ground. The little “U” shape hose in the middle does nothing. This pool came with multiple options and this could be used for a heater but we don’t need it so we simple ran a hose from one connection to the other. I could also simply plug each one but haven’t found anything suitable. The hose coming from the left is another “option” that wasn’t used. However, now with rainwater pouring in during storms, this keeps the pool from overflowing and the water depth can be adjusted simply by turning this fitting to the desired level. All overflow water flows out the same discharge as the backwash/rinse modes of the sand filter. On forecasts of heavy storms or rain, I’ll hook up our RV drain hose to that discharge so the flood flows downhill away from the yard.

I know that is more than anyone cares to know but just know this set up is working “swimmingly”. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist).

Project Progress

May 8, 2024 / WJG / 0 Comments

Last year, we just set the pool up in the middle of the yard, trying to catch sunlight and avoid being under the pecan trees (for obvious reasons). It wasn’t ideal (too close to the chicken run) so we decided to relocate it closer to the house.

We intended to set up at the south end of the house, so that meant removing 2 huge limbs on the 2 pecan trees above.

There is nothing more fun than operating a chainsaw while perched high on a ladder!

We did the first one (#2 above) a few weeks ago. It was pointing straight to where this pic was taken from – slightly overhanging the fence in the foreground. Hoping to avoid the fence, I cut the “hinge” so it should fall to the right into the yard. I had to take down the line of lights that ran from the house to the garage as well as our network cable suspended above (just below yellow line).

I was paranoid about it kicking out the ladder I was perched high up on so I positioned the ladder opposite the limb as much as possible but made the cutting action very awkward. It safely fell but it DID also wipe out that section of fence. Oh well, it was separating from the post anyway and needed attention. Luckily, I only had to replace that 1 section next to the gate.

For the other tree (#1), this wasn’t as high so was easier to get at. From the ground, I estimated that the very tip of the falling limb might brush the lights/network cable that were reinstalled after the first limb was removed. Turns out 8″ or so DID brush the line but were very small branches and the line wasn’t damaged at all. I cut the larger sections into 4′ lengths – hoping to mill it down to be usable for building projects and the smaller sections were cut up for firewood to be used next year. I was surprised at how much wood we got out of those 2 limbs but both were 12+” diameter at the base.

Yesterday, with a rare nice day in an endless string of monsoons and storms, we got the pool set up and used the well to put in the first 8 or 9 inches of water while we smoothed out the bottom.

However, rather than taxing our well/pump, we’ll be using the storms to fill it the rest of the way, rather than turning the yard into muck.

One of our goals is to eventually capture as much rainwater as possible – from all 4 buildings so this is the first stage of that. Rather than dropping into a bucket (or pooling up in the yard), I rerouted the front side gutter to turn the corner to continue down the side of the house. In the middle (between the bedroom windows), I put in a downspout that typically fills a rain bucket. With a simple (temporary) modification, it will now fill the pool. In a couple hours time, I could (and will eventually) tie in the back side gutters the same way. Now, I am curious to see how quickly it fills.

Once filled, we’ll strain out the larger debris (and bugs) and the pool pump, filters and Roomba type pool vacuum will take care of the rest. Once clear, I can treat the water to the right PH/chlorine balance just as we did previously.

One concern is that until it is filled, the pool is vulnerable to wind damage from storms so will be watching the forecast closely and will remove the legs (and lower the profile) by dropping the top ring down onto the rest of the pool.

We’ll experience this season as it is to be certain we like the location but the plans are (if we like it) to recess the pool halfway into the ground and then build a simple deck around part or all of it.

Finally, I had been noticing my zero turn wasn’t cutting very well so I winched it up in the shop and saw this.

That’s a new (black) blade behind an old one removed from the mower. I’d call it a bit worn, wouldn’t you?

All 3 blades were quite mangled and is why I noticed uncut lines in the mowing path as they no longer overlapped as they should.

Now, I need to refrain from using the zero-turn for the rough stuff and save that work for my “NASCAR” tractor. That’s my old Craftsman with a broken front axel that only turns left. I bought a welder to fix it but first I need to learn how to weld.

Goodbye Ruthie

May 8, 2024 / WJG / 0 Comments

Sadly, we recently lost Ruthie unexpectedly. It was in the morning after being let out of the coop to the run. Soon after she was down on the ground but remained upright moving her head and the 2 roos kept “hitting on her”. I’d nudge them off but then we noticed something wasn’t right with Ruthie and she wasn’t trying to flee their advances as the hens usually do. Sherry picked her up and she was visibly in distress by this time and vomiting. She died within minutes. We are suspecting a heart attack but have no way to know for sure. We’ve kept close watch on the others and the rest all seem fine.

Luckily, she was able to have a Viking funeral. Maybe not a real boat but I had a huge brush pile built up with all of the tree work I had been doing and planned to burn it off now that everything has greened up. I added some good sized logs to arrange around her (in the shape of a boat) and set it off. It burned hot and heavy for a good hour and by the time it was all done in the evening, it was simply a small pile of ashes out in our field. I know I should have “processed” her but just didn’t have the bandwidth at the time. She would have been a tasty treat for the dogs and cats (or me) though.

It’s too bad. She was certainly our prettiest hen and a consistent egg producer.

Good bye Ruthie. Thank you for your service.

Spring Planting Completed!!!

May 3, 2024 / WJG / 0 Comments

WooHoo! We finally have (most) everything in the ground (or pots or bins). There is still space for a few dozen more plants. We’ll either use that for something we haven’t tried yet or use it for 2nd crops later in the summer.

Here’s is what we are anticipating:

On the front porch (in pots and bins):

Oregano
Thyme
Rosemary
Echinacia
Basil
Peppermint
Dill
Nasturtium
Garlic

In the garden:

Sweet Corn
(Sunset Runner) Beans
Kale
Broccoli
Snow Peas
Snap Peas
Carrots
Cucumbers (several varieties)
Radishes
Peppers (several varieties)
Beets
Jalapenos
Onions (green, white and yellow)
Cabbage (several varieties)
Sage
Lettuce (several varieties)
Arugula
Cilantro
Romaine
Cauliflower
Celery
Calendula
Lemon Balm
Tomatoes (several varieties in 10 bins)
Watermelon
Pumpkins (2 varieties)
Cantalope
Black Oil Sunflowers

Last year, we were tentative – not knowing what would be successful and what wouldn’t so we only planted about a 1/3rd of the available space. This year, with last years surprising success, we mostly filled it out but are still not sure if it will all thrive. Like everything here, we are learning as we go.

Now, we need to develop our “canning” skills. Hopefully, we’ll be extremely busy come this fall.

Waterworks / Irrigation

May 3, 2024 / WJG / 1 Comment

I’ve been asked about how we keep everything watered. It’s not as easy as it sounds with everything spread out and only a single water source available but I’ve been working/adjusting/tweaking this for over a year now and is getting just about ideal for us now.

As Sherry knows, I am pretty anal when it comes to this and am not a fan of constantly hooking/unhooking/untangling hoses and dragging them around. Added to that is the absolutely terrible quality of most products sold for this purpose. I’ve rarely ever had a nozzle, sprinkler, hose or any other component of these last more than 2 years so my goal was to eliminate their incompetence by doing as much on my own as possible.

Everything (in pots/tubs) on the porch is watered by hand using rainwater collected in tubs below the downspouts so no big deal but for everything else, we needed closer sources to get the water.

The problem is, THIS is our only source for water outside of the house. This freeze-proof spigot is located by the old well head just off the back porch.

So, immediately I split this single hook up to 5 new ones using PVC valves and 3/4″ piping.

The blue valve at the bottom is used for filling buckets but doubles as a “drain” of that valve system when the water is shut off. Moving up from that valve, the next connection on the left is where the water comes from the source and enters the system. Up from there is a hose running to the outdoor shower (that this is mounted to). The next one up (turned on) is the hose that feeds the line that covers the garden as well as other locations. Up from there is the hose reel (pictured) and the top valve controls a simple 10′ hose and nozzle that hangs on the shower for general use.

The line that covers the garden and other places runs on the ground over to the front of the chicken coop. As of now, it is a simple garden hose but will eventually be “piped” when I complete a mud free walkway back there.

Once there, it screws into a PVC fitting and traverses up to the top of the door where a “T” connection sends a line to the left for inside the barn, as well as another that runs to our camper stored under the lean to. The other line (to the right) continues towards the garden.

The line is up so high because of the gate between the chicken runs. I’m not crazy about this arrangement and may move it to the ground but I’ll wait for it to break and force me to. Actually, this section between the runs will all be redone but works ok for this season.

On that first post by the gate is the first faucet available. This spigot previously drained the whole system but I had to change that behavior when I added the additional footage circling the garden as it is just too much distance overall to get the slope exactly right for that distance.

The next post down the run also has a spigot, which is connected to the birds 2-sided waterer. It takes about 15 seconds to refill by turning the valve. The older girls get their water via nipples on the bottom of the larger PVC section. The newer girls on this side are smaller so I built them a bench to reach the nipples.

Finally reaching the NE corner of the garden. Here is another “T” with one side continuing straight south towards the shop and then turning along the south side and the other turning westward along the north side of the garden.

At the shop, there is another access gate so I dropped the line to the ground and used “water supply” hoses (typically used to hook up your washing machine or dishwasher) to hook up the south side line. There is an extra splitter valve there on the ground that will drain this “bridging” line when needed. The green hose going left is watering the sunflowers at the back of the garden.

And here (going west on the south side) is the first of 6 “stations” surrounding the garden. The blue valve at the bottom drains the PVC (for freezes) but has a simple 10′ hose and nozzle for general use at the shop (where we do all of the seeding and planting preparations).

Each of the 6 stations in the garden contains a single sprinkler head that covers that section as well as 2 additional spigots for hoses and drip lines. I might have screwed this up by slanting these downward because a little water could still be trapped above the valves after the lines are drained. I may revise next year.

Moving westward, this is the station at the middle of the garden.

And, at the end of the line (for now) is another station in that corner.

When you step back and see that entire line, you can easily see the slope that drains everything in that zone to the SE corner, where it can be drained away safely to prevent freeze damage. These sections each have their own section shut off/bypass valve so during the colder months, only the sections that are actually used need to be drained.

Returning to the split at the NE corner of the garden, we’ll now cover the north side.

This north side is a duplicate of the opposing south side. Simply 3 more stations – 2 at the corners and a 3rd in the middle.

I like the convenience of not having to enter the garden to “water the birds” so I moved the first station on this side to the edge of the chicken run and mounted the station to a makeshift piece that is banded to a T post.

The middle station.

And the final station at the NW corner. This is also the low point in this zone so it has a spigot to drain the line (or use otherwise).

But, instead of terminating, you see the line continues further to the right (because there is more to cover).

Exiting the garden, the line has to traverse another gate opening so it elevates up over the top of the posts. That elevation creates a 3rd zone going downhill now towards the garage and then turns along side it towards the front. The spigot at the garage front will be the low/drain point for this 3rd section.

As soon as it comes down again after the gate, there is a valve for another hose reel. This is used for brush fires or other needs out towards the field.

The next stop along the line is the compost piles and worm pit so there is a spigot there before the line turns north along the garage.

And then FINALLY at the front of the garage is the final spigot for this line for washing vehicles or other garage uses.

Newest Addition(s)

March 31, 2024 / WJG / 5 Comments

We’re not sure what we have at the moment but our feral cats have been busy. It seems more than 1 have been impregnated by their “brothers” and one “Caz” was certainly showing so we were expecting some little ones. Sherry set up a maternity room (box) in our feed room in the barn.

We were surprised to see not “Caz” in there but instead learned that “Mister Fatty Pants” is actually a “Missy Fatty Pants” as she was lounging in there with 6 not so new kitties. She must have birthed them elsewhere as they suddenly appeared in the box and look to be at least a week old already.

Knowing Caz still had to pop, Sherry set up another box. MFP moved her family back into the barn under the steps and has since disappeared with all of them.

Caz finally started popping them out but I believe she is having great difficulty. A few were born dead and we think a critter might have gotten a few as well (maybe the lurking possum family). We need to remember, none of these ferals had a mama around for very long as she died while they were still quite young and Caz seems overwhelmed with it all – not knowing what to do.

Then, Sherry noticed this one all alone, freezing cold, near death and no mama in anywhere to be found so she took it inside and started caring for it. We named it “Yoda” and while only a few days old, she is already doing much better.

Considering the shape she was in when she found it, I am really surprised she survived but now a few days into it, she seems like she’s going to make it.

As for the others, we do not know. Maybe we’ll never see them again – and that would be OK with us. Either way, we’ll take whatever comes our way. We heard many folks in the area welcome new kittens (especially the Amish) so not too worried about being overrun… yet.