Texas Spring/Summer Thread

[pacerron]

Well, I hate to interrupt this peee-nutty discussion, but I was surprised today by how dry it is in southwest Wise County. I drove down to Poolville to look at a dozer. Between Bridgeport and Poolville along FM 920, it is so dry that hay production is 1/2 to 1/3 what it is around me in northern Wise Co. QUOTE]

Is the dozer looking for the gully to pond project considered "Flip Flopping"
or just "Evolving"?:laughing:

 

[jinman]

I remember being in the US Navy in a visit to Singapore and eating at one of their local food villages.

I remember being in the AF in places that if you ate the local food you either died or had a bad case of the runs.

That was true with many places I went, but Singapore was one of those exceptional places that street food and vendors was the way to go. If you went to a hotel restaurant, a meal would cost you $25 (in 1980), but in the food markets, you could get freshly grilled shrimp, curried rice, bread, and a drink for under $4. Another place had fish and chips for $2.50. I never wanted to eat anywhere else.

BTW: Your deer fence looks great. On a scale of 1 to 10 --with 10 being very hard-- how hard do you rate the job?

 

[Western]

I just left Decatur and man what a rain storm, sure enough, get about a mile from the house and its dry. Looks like Bird may be "scoring" good today though.

 

[Bird]

I just left Decatur and man what a rain storm, sure enough, get about a mile from the house and its dry. Looks like Bird may be "scoring" good today though.

Dennis, I figured I got about .14" this morning before daylight, which is exactly what the NWS recorded officially for Denton, but then in the middle of the day, they say Denton got another .71" while I figure I got maybe .19". But I'm not really complaining; just glad for that third of an inch and hope for more tonight.

 

[pacerron]

That was true with many places I went, but Singapore was one of those exceptional places that street food and vendors was the way to go. If you went to a hotel restaurant, a meal would cost you $25 (in 1980), but in the food markets, you could get freshly grilled shrimp, curried rice, bread, and a drink for under $4. Another place had fish and chips for $2.50. I never wanted to eat anywhere else.

BTW: Your deer fence looks great. On a scale of 1 to 10 --with 10 being very hard-- how hard do you rate the job?

Job rating.. maybe 2
I have an old homemade fence post pounder that I could pound the 7.5 foot posts in while standing on the ground. I'm short, so to get the pounder off
I ended up using the FEL with a chain dropping from it. My wife would wrap the chain around the pounder and hold a piece of baling string tied around a handle as I pulled the pounder off. This kept the pounder from swinging back toward my head when the bottom cleared the top of the post.
We set the posts 20 feet apart which is plenty close. At the end of each 110 foot roll of fabric I waited till we had it tied up before setting the next post in case the fabric was a little long, short, or not stretched enough to hit exactly 20 feet.
Up here at almost 1000 feet elevation the wind always blows if your painting or trying to stretch something but the fabric doesn't have much wind resistance.
I used your idea of wrapping one end around a piece of 3/4 in plastic pipe and then tying it to a corner post to act as a 20' gate to get in and out easily.
Used 8" pieces of used plastic fiber baling twine to tie the fabric to the posts.
That's what we use to tie up tomatoes and about every other use you could dream of. When the wife unwraps the string from the horse hay rolls she winds it on a stick in figure 8 fashion like we used to wrap kite cord as kids.
I'm going to put the deer cam in a nearby tree to see how they react to nosing the fabric. We have plans for some fabric over the blueberries when they start to ripen to keep the birds from eating them.
Thanks again for all your suggestions of how to do the fence.
Ron

 

[Western]

Dennis, I figured I got about .14" this morning before daylight, which is exactly what the NWS recorded officially for Denton, but then in the middle of the day, they say Denton got another .71" while I figure I got maybe .19". But I'm not really complaining; just glad for that third of an inch and hope for more tonight.

Bird, looks like it still may happen for you,also looks like it's on Jim's doorstep, or real close!!! Thundering all around me, but still dry. Welcome the cooler temps though:thumbsup:

 

[Bird]

Bird, looks like it still may happen for you,also looks like it's on Jim's doorstep, or real close!!! Thundering all around me, but still dry. Welcome the cooler temps though:thumbsup:

I sure would like more rain, as long as it doesn't include high winds and/or hail.

 

[foreman Etexas]

Boy it has been pouring down here for about an hour,lots of lightning, it sure is nice:thumbsup:.

 

[Traxx]

Its been raining here for the last 2 days, only problem is that I am 160 miles off the cost of Port Fourchon La.

 

[NativeSon]

I remember being in the US Navy in a visit to Singapore and eating at one of their local food villages.QUOTE]

I remember being in the AF in places that if you ate the local food you either died or had a bad case of the runs. You had to insist on them bringing the US beer with the cap still on the bottle and pop it yourself.
You Navy guys always had the best food.

Yeah Fleet Sailors always had the best food??? That "Monkey Meat" cooked over a Habachi on the streets of Olongapo was safe to eat........if you drank enough San Miguel.

Charlie

 

[pacerron]

Yeah Fleet Sailors always had the best food??? That "Monkey Meat" cooked over a Habachi on the streets of Olongapo was safe to eat........if you drank enough San Miguel.

Charlie

Ah yes, a summer in the Philippines. I was at Clark AFB for a time in the 60's.
There was so much moisture in the air equipment corrosion was an extreme problem.
Good place to sweat.

 

[jinman]

Yesterday afternoon, we got another 6/10" and then watched every storm evaporate as it approached us on the radar. My inlaws between Haslet and Saginaw got the heavy downpour with lots of pea-sized hail. They said their flowerbeds took a beating, especially the new flowers they planted just this week.

For most of the afternoon rain storm, I was standing in the doorway to my 3rd floor balcony and being a cheerleader.:thumbsup: It was really exciting when the downpour got heavy enough to cause runoff and I could watch my new terraces direct the water just as planned. However, like the B.B. King song, The Thrill is Gone, the rain stopped too quickly and I just got a sneak preview of what things will be like in a good 2" or heavier rainfall.

Ron: The reason I went to look at the dozer was to add it to my motorpool. I plan to build several other ponds and do some land levelling and shaping in places that would be best done with the dozer. Unfortunately, the one I looked at is priced probably $4k to $5k too high because the fellow must be upside down on repairs he had to do and he won't budge in price. . . yet.

BTW: Ron, on your deer netting, I'd add a few flags by tying rag strips or bright plastic surveyor's ribbon to the fence at deer eye level until they get used to it. If they are frightened by something, they could run right through the fence until they know it is there. It's ugly, but we did that for a couple of years to get them aware of the fence location. We find that even when we take the fence down, the deer still go around the garden mostly. We may see a few tracks in the garden area, but most tracks follow the same paths as when the fence is up.

 

[Western]

For most of the afternoon rain storm, I was standing in the doorway to my 3rd floor balcony and being a cheerleader.:thumbsup:

I always miss the "good" shows:laughing: I can just see Jim in shorts wearing boots with a couple of "pom poms" Sad thing, I'd be right beside him

Ron: The reason I went to look at the dozer was to add it to my motorpool. I plan to build several other ponds and do some land levelling and shaping in places that would be best done with the dozer. Unfortunately, the one I looked at is priced probably $4k to $5k too high because the fellow must be upside down on repairs he had to do and he won't budge in price. . . yet.

Jim, I'm not 6 miles from Pooleville, I could cut the blade off, get the $ down, then we could weld her back up!! I'd love to have a dozer, one of those things I'd use the heck out of one summer than watch it rust, or sell it.

Got a total of 1-8/10ths for 2 days:thumbsup: I figured I was ging to get the shaft again, but yesterday evening the wife and I went to wally world (got me one of them melons you guys mentioned) the rain was pouring for over an hour. Very grateful for it.

 

[Bird]

we got another 6/10"

ANOTHER 6/10"!!!! Altogether I might have gotten .38"

 

[Western]

ANOTHER 6/10"!!!! Altogether I might have gotten .38"

WOW, Bird, When looking at the radar before leaving to town yesterday evening, it looked like every one in Corinth would be all using rowboats this morning?

 

[jinman]

Jim, I'm not 6 miles from Pooleville, I could cut the blade off, get the $ down, then we could weld her back up!! I'd love to have a dozer, one of those things I'd use the heck out of one summer than watch it rust, or sell it.

The "dozer" is really a Cat 977K track loader. It's at Don's dozer service just south of the FM 920/Hwy 199 intersection. The beast has a 2.5 yard bucket and weighs 45k lb. However, in looking online, many of these have a 4-in-1 bucket and scarifiers on the rear. This one has only a rear towing hitch. The tracks, rollers, and sprockets look good with the grousers being only about 50% worn. However one track has a dirt cover missing and one of the side engine covers is missing. Without knowing the history of the dozer, it's a $12.5k machine in my opinion (compared to others online). He wants $16.5k. It's not exactly what I'm looking for and I'm not willing to take a chance on it. Like you, I need a machine that I can use and resell quickly. My keeper is my New Holland LB75B TLB. I have to find a deal that I'm sure will be better than renting and I can resell.

 

[EddieWalker]

Nice storm last night. My gauge shows 7/8's of an inch. Good thunder storm and just enough rain to water my new grass seed and food plot!!!!

Too muddy to do anything today, so I don't even feel guilting about spending the day on the computer doing job bids and paperwork.

Eddie

 

[NativeSon]

Yesterday all the rain was to the West of us. They had said that we might get some evening showers, but as the sun went down it didn't look promising. After I hit the hay it started pouring Yeeeeeeha! We ended up a little over
1 1/4 inches for which we are very grateful.

Charlie

 

[pacerron]

Ron: The reason I went to look at the dozer was to add it to my motorpool. I plan to build several other ponds and do some land levelling and shaping in places that would be best done with the dozer. Unfortunately, the one I looked at is priced probably $4k to $5k too high because the fellow must be upside down on repairs he had to do and he won't budge in price. . . yet.

BTW: Ron, on your deer netting, I'd add a few flags by tying rag strips or bright plastic surveyor's ribbon to the fence at deer eye level until they get used to it. If they are frightened by something, they could run right through the fence until they know it is there. It's ugly, but we did that for a couple of years to get them aware of the fence location. We find that even when we take the fence down, the deer still go around the garden mostly. We may see a few tracks in the garden area, but most tracks follow the same paths as when the fence is up.

A dozer would be a big help for your projects. When I read your post about going to look at one
it just instantly reminded me of the discussion where I was trying to get you to buy and old small earthmover and Eddie was trying to get you to buy a dump truck. You were objecting hard to buying used equip that could have big repair bills. I was just trying to make a Northerner joke about you flip-flopping as the Elephants are always accused of or just "evolving" as the jack asses claim to be doing.
Thanks for the caution on the deer fence. It has made it through 2 nights but all the planting will be done by tonight so we will put some red surveyor tape on the fence. Our whitetail don't have much color perception but they see the slightest movement. Might keep me from running into it too, in a senior moment.
We have tried everything from rotten egg-garlic spray (which does work pretty well on the flowers, wife brews her own), to electric fence, to old computer disks, to plastic grocery bags, to radios playing at the garden, to
human hair and other excrements, to mothballs in a bag, and loud bangs not pointed directly at them. After a while they get used to everything. They even stand within 50 feet of our gate with a smile on their face when we are leaving in a vehicle.
She planted sweet corn this morning and the crows are sitting high in the trees near the garden calling their buddies in. They really started squawking when she put the fake owl out. Watering in the seed helps a little as they don't like to get their feet wet... sometimes.
Supposed to rain here tonight, and that will be great for the garden if it really happens.
They used to say,: Plant one that won't come up, plant one for the animals, and plant one for yourself. Wouldn't be so bad if the deer would play by those rule. They like to wipe out green beans and corn the night before it is ready to pick.

 

[Bird]

The "dozer" is really a Cat 977K track loader. It's at Don's dozer service just south of the FM 920/Hwy 199 intersection. The beast has a 2.5 yard bucket and weighs 45k lb. However, in looking online, many of these have a 4-in-1 bucket and scarifiers on the rear. This one has only a rear towing hitch. The tracks, rollers, and sprockets look good with the grousers being only about 50% worn. However one track has a dirt cover missing and one of the side engine covers is missing. Without knowing the history of the dozer, it's a $12.5k machine in my opinion (compared to others online). He wants $16.5k. It's not exactly what I'm looking for and I'm not willing to take a chance on it. Like you, I need a machine that I can use and resell quickly. My keeper is my New Holland LB75B TLB. I have to find a deal that I'm sure will be better than renting and I can resell.

Jim, my brother & I decided to enlarge a pond on his place while it was dry and we were in a drought. So he rented a dozer; nice blade on the front but no scarifier. And it didn't dig into that hard ground worth a hoot, so in that one day's rent, we really didn't do well at all. So instead he hired a guy there in the county that I'd seen work before. He was just unbelievably fast, whether doing it himself or one of his employees. At my brother's place, an employee showed up with the dozer and it had hinged scarifiers mounted on the back of the blade. So he'd lower the blade and back up with scarifiers tearing up the ground. Then when he'd go forward the back side of those scarifiers would just drag along behind the blade. It was just absolutely amazing how much work those guys could get done in a short time.