Bad Day at Block Rock - errrr - Make it Bad Year.

crash325 · May 29, 2015

Depmandog said:
Have you thought about putting up a strand of hot wire? I know, just something else to fix.

Getting into the hot time of the year. Snakes will be out and about at night. Love to see snakes.. As long as I can spot them from a distance. Afraid if I lived there I would wear out my flashlight going outside after dark lest I walk up on one.

There is very little that I have not given thought to when it comes to the fence. Including a solid cinder block wall. None are practical or affordable.

Snake season started quite some time back. So far 5 known friendlies & 3 Rattlers. Yep no walking around in the dark with out a flash light.

Today temp reached 101, chances are that will be near daily or even hotter, most days.

This AM I thought to myself this is the longest the well has gone without a problem. Jinxed the darn thing. Late this afternoon it started screwing. Water lines full of high pressure air, mostly spit, sputter & blow air. It had cooled down to mere 98. Go to well, pressure switch burnt inside. File the points & pop them a few times. Sipper valve was blowing are from the tank blowing the air. Pump goes to work & sipper really starts blowing. Fairly soon water comes up & shuts sipper, Tank starting to build up pressure. About 300 yards of 1 & 1.25 of pipe to my place = lots of air.

Almost nothing ever simple or cheap. AC in truck quit, no problem low in R134. Well not so fast, clutch on compressor not working. Fuses good , jumper wire nothing changes. Now is the compressor bad, along with something electrical????

More Later,
Jim

crash325 · May 30, 2015

It looks like summer is here. Yesterday 104, today 107 & its only a little after 1 PM.
Fairly nice in the early AM, around 67 / 69.

Riley & dog both gone. Sure hope they can find shade & water. But when they do show up the first thing is drinking water.

Exciting I guess, coffee maker died, not complaining it was over 12 years old.. Got a new one. Don't like it as well as the old one. but it works.

Little table tog grill, that I do most of my cooking on is about 25 years old, been trying to die the last 3 / 4 years.
Got a new one, ( Some assembly Required.) way too many parts. Don't like it as well as the old 1. But it works.

Didn't really have to have a new one, but got a new slow cooker / crock pot. Kind neat, rubber seal on lid, oval shape & stainless steel.
Guess I like it better?? 1 Out of three not so bad, right???

More really exciting things bound to be coming up.
Jim

crash325 · May 31, 2015

The excitement continues.

Rattler under the house last night. Bobby said it was there. Kid crawled under & whacked its head off with my conduit tire spoon.Bobby's job is to tell you its there, once people show up she is done.

That makes 4 rattlers & 5 friendly's

More Later,
Jim.

Depmandog · Jun 1, 2015

See! That grandkid IS good for something! And he has a set of kohonies on him too. Not many young'uns would voluntarily crawl under a house knowing he was gonna come face to face with a snake, let alone a rattler!

breadtrk · Jun 1, 2015

Couple strands of electric is cheaper than 4 30 packs of beer. Either fix the problems or shoot the dogs and start over.

TomSeller · Jun 1, 2015

breadtrk said:
Couple strands of electric is cheaper than 4 30 packs of beer. Either fix the problems or shoot the dogs and start over.

Different dogs won't help unless they are older lay around dogs. Dogs dig. Put up the Elec fence or fix it as has been mentioned are the ways to be neighborly.

Sysop · Jun 1, 2015

If you really are considering a different dog, I recommend a Wheaten Terrier. They make great companions and would rather spend their time with you than anything else. They're a medium sized dog, well adapted to nearly any lifestyle. My Wheaten won't leave even when coaxed by other dogs and is given free run with no fence, leash, or collar. If he starts to chase after something, he's easily called away from it. He rides in my truck with me nearly everyplace I go, if he needs to go out, I just find a wide spot to pull over and let him out. He goes and does his business and comes right back to the truck. I don't even need to get out other than to stretch my own legs. He loves to go on rides, doesn't matter if it is the UTV, ATV, lawnmower, or tractor, he wants to go too... He jumps up on my tractor simply to curl up in a ball between my feet on the floor and nap while I mow and do other tasks.

The only real "problems" with a Wheaten are grooming and their intelligence. They don't shed like most dogs, when they do lose hair it comes out as little cotton balls; therefore to maintain a good coat they need brushed regularly, or kept shaved some. As far as their intelligence being a problem, it is something they outgrow. They are highly intelligent puppies, very curious, and very headstrong. Some people wonder if their Wheatens are deaf as puppies because no amount of verbal instructions seem to get their attention. It doesn't take long to correct them or instruct them on various behaviors, but it isn't something you can do from your couch. A lot of attention as a pup goes a long way to making a very obedient and independent companion, as loyal as any possibly can be.

TomSeller · Jun 2, 2015

Sysop said:
Some people wonder if their Wheatens are deaf as puppies because no amount of verbal instructions seem to get their attention.

Seems to be a common problem with many breeds

. Then one day something flips and they start thinking "Maybe I should listen to Dad"

Sysop · Jun 2, 2015

Seems the smarter they are, the worse it is. Mine has been very easy to train, it was just a hands on process at first. You couldn't just yell "NO" or anything that would get his attention when he was a pup, lack of attention from his original owner contributed to it. You had to physically go remove him from whatever he was getting into and put him to doing something else. Now that he is an adult, he's really easy to train. It only takes a few minutes of working with him to get him to understand and obey a new command. I never was into teaching "tricks" much, but a friend and I were discussing smart dogs and he had a video of his mini-pin doing all sorts of tricks. It took 25 minutes of working with my Wheaten to fully recreate his video, and most of the stuff my dog had never done before. Even knowing the dog and how easy he was to teach new things, I was impressed. My friend was totally speechless.

The Wheatens were originally bred to be a medium-small farm dog, but they even do great as an apartment dog without a lot of space (mine even spends a good many days riding around in my truck while I work). They are good at everything from herding to hunting varmints, most of all they are great companions; they want nothing more than to be with you, doing what you do.