Good morning!!!!

[vtsnowedin]

Thanks for the info!
It's actually a rather unusual growth pattern...the bamboo (knotweed, if that's what it is) is limited to an area a few hundred yards long by 15-25 yards wide. It has not spread any further in the 2.5 years we've been living here. It's gone in the colder month, then grows rapidly in the late Spring, early Summer.
I attribute the growth pattern to the way the soil was distributed by the flooding from Irene. All of our property has pretty sandy soil. The area of the bamboo is more sandy. I'm no expert, so that's WAG on my part.
The field is mowed regularly (2 to 4 week intervals, depending on the weather) and is a mixture of field grasses and other brush. Beyond the bamboo is more brush and ground cover...thicker since it hasn't been mowed since Irene hit Vermont.
My plan is to mow the whole plot, then work my way to the river. It will be slow going since the ground is so uneven (again, a result of washouts from the flooding) and drop offs are pretty abrupt. I want to clear the area (trail to the river), but I have no intention of rolling the tractor as part of the process.
The best time of year to do this would be late Winter. There has been too much snow on the field the last two winters to get the tractor down there.

One State crew I know calls it "foot-a -day" as that is how fast it grows in June. Down on the Exit 20 project the Feds had us pay laborers to pull out each shoot by hand and put them in black plastic bags to keep them from re sprouting. Waste of time and money as the spring floods spread it over all the river banks along with the poison ivy.

 

[daugen]

Don, good luck with the big cookout. I hope you have lots of fans.
Could you take some pics for us? Like to see what you are cooking.

 

[farmer2009]

63 this morning and headed to 88 today.

Got 2 poplar trees cut yesterday. 23 & 25 inch diameter trees. Made nine 10' long logs. Only put 7 on trailer and it was enough. Best we figured had about 450 bf on trailer. Delivered them to the mill sight. So today is sawmill day. Turn those into lumber. Mainly 2x6 but hope to get to some 1" boards today.

 

[rswyan]

63F and partly sunny @ 09:15 ... mostly sunny heading up to a high of 81F for the day.

Yesterday I managed to get rid of all the display gondolas yesterday to my nephew, he sent a driver down to help load them into the van and I ran them up to his store. Scored about a dozen pallets from him for my time and trouble.

Got the shutoff valve removed off the supply to the water heater. Boiler room and closet are now dry, except for the spot under the supply line where I had a bucket sitting to catch the drips.

I picked up a 3/4 copper cap to plug the line on the way in, along with three 5 gallon buckets and lids to partially empty the drum upstairs so it can be brought down and removed. Never made it upstairs tho' ... lol ...

Also grabbed a 1" chip brush to clean the filter on the shop vac ... something that has to be done pretty often. I've taken one wheelbarrow load of dust from vacuuming out to the dumpster so far ... it's real real fine stuff and weighs a lot. Got some more vacuuming done on the first floor.

Pulled three tables out of the lunch room and staged them at the overhead door for removal. All three are more or less junk ... although one might be salvageable for shop use. Before that I got the area along the north side of the warehouse addition sprayed again (2nd time ?) with Roundup ... the poison ivy is still hanging on ...

Apparently a scraper came by and grabbed the water heater so I don't have to worry about getting rid of it.

Woman came by after she finished around 18:00 and brought dinner and some 200w incandescent light bulbs for the one stairwell and the boiler room. We worked on replacing bulbs in the fluorescent fixtures and checking to see which fixtures had bad ballasts in the first floor front ... got that probably at least 80 percent done. Looks like there are probably 8 to 10 that need ballasts replaced so far ... have to grab my stash of used ballasts up in the shop on the way out/in today.

After that I got the wheelbarrow and shovel and cleaned up at the dirt and debris from where I edged the sidewalk out front ... two wheelbarrow loads worth. Then I used the Echo blower to blow all the dust off. Still have more edging to do tho' ...

She worked on sweeping up dirt and debris along the north side of the building ... looks pretty good now ... some yellow paint for the parking barriers and it will be sporty.

We didn't leave until after 21:00 yesterday.

I noticed that she made up some juice for the hummers and loaded their feeder before she left for work this morning ... I dunno how she does it.

My young helper - recently released from Lorain County Correctional Facility - assured me he would be available to work, no problem ... and definitely on the weekends, if no other time. Two texts to him - one last night and one this morning - and no replies thus far ...

 

[RedNeckGeek]

65F @ 7:00 AM. Sunny. High 93F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.

Good story, David. I hope she's enjoying the ride! :thumbsup:

Drew, this Californian gets any heavy work done early in the morning, then goes inside to enjoy the A/C when temps hit 95 or so. I'm afraid my tolerance for hot work isn't what it used to be, but then again there seldom is anything so important that it can't be put off until more comfortable temperatures prevail. No point in suffering.

You're a good person for trying to help that young man onto a straighter path. But you're not responsible for his poor decisions. Horse to water...

Don, best of luck with the VFD fish fry. Sounds like a good time for all, and for a very good cause, too.

Farmer, made a small chest of drawers in high school. The cabinet was oak, but the shop teacher said to make the drawers out of poplar because they wouldn't warp. It's been 41 years, and he was right! Love to see some pics of your milling operation. :thumbsup:

Just reading through that list made me tired, RS! Sounds like you're coming down the home stretch though. :thumbsup:

I've done all I can on the K-bike, aside from a couple of screws and a nut, and installing the missing front tire. Changed the oil and adjusted the valves on the bike I rode to Billings, so it's ready to go again. Sure could use a bath, though (the bike, not me :laughing. But what's the use, as the driveway is so dusty it would be just as dirty after one trip.

Got a bite on one of the for sale motorcycles last night, from the son of one of the guys that was at the tech day back in April. He's local, very interested, and doesn't seem to mind the wild paint job. Says he'll be over on Sunday, so I'll get the cover off and dust things off today, and put it on the charger to be sure it'll start. If we can come to terms, I'm tempted to take a check and let him ride it away, but I'm wondering if I'm being too trusting. How can you tell?

Hope everyone enjoys a nice weekend...

 

[rswyan]

Just reading through that list made me tired, RS! Sounds like you're coming down the home stretch though. :thumbsup:

I wish it were so ... but I ain't even close.

Of course part of it depends on how much work I want to put into it I guess.

I haven't even started to do any cleaning in the upstairs (4200 sq. ft.) and the rear warehouse (5280 sq. ft.)

Ideally, I'd like to hose down the walls and pressure wash the floor in the rear warehouse ... doable because there's not much the in way of electric back there. The rear office and old machine shop - the latter being very, very dusty - are more problematic though, because of electrical wiring, in the shop's case, and a finished interior in the office. I guess I could kill all the power going back there (there's a 200A disconnect for that area at the main panels) ... but then it becomes an issue of how do you see what you're doing ... lol ...

The second floor in the front building can't really be hosed down for obvious reasons (water has no place to drain to) ... so sweeping/vacuuming and maybe some mopping is as good as it will get there.

I'll probably get the worst of it knocked out, as far as removal of junk and then just pick at it, bit by bit, as I can.

 

[sodamo]

73°F and 4.24 inches rain last 24 hours as Tropical Depression Kilo favors us with its presents

Mom mobile has made destination - Corona, CA

Definitely an indoor day. Was planning on final coat of drywall compound, but may reevaluate.

Be safe
Have a great day

David Sent from my iPad Air using TractorByNet

 

[txdon]

Don, good luck with the big cookout. I hope you have lots of fans.
Could you take some pics for us? Like to see what you are cooking.

Just home for lunch and grab the camera.

parking lot roped off - check
linners in garbage cans - check
Ice truck - check
Porta cans - check
water fans - check
frying pots - check
bean pots - check
beer truck - check
50 volunteers - check

The fish is cut and headed to the picnic grounds to be prepared for frying, the potato salad has been made and in the refrigerated truck. It hasn't even started and I'm worn out.

 

[daugen]

I bet Don is pretty hot right now...about as hot as freshly fried fish...

Long day for me, 8 hours outside, thanks to a really nice day where the humidity had dropped, got all the mowing and trimming done,helped by my neighbor coming over and helping me mow the lawn while I mowed the field. He also mowed the orchard for me. And helped me unload a trailer full of brush. He just got a new JD Z turn and I think he was having fun comparing it to the garden tractor. Then finally I took the Kubota "over the road" and mowed the ROW grass on the opposite end of the property, on a different road. That seven foot mower made quick work of the grass but I could not go as far over near the ditch or I would scalp. I refuse to do what the road crew does who also comes along once in a while and mows the ROW regardless if they are nicely mowed or not. Aggravating is that they usually scalp the crown severely and then leave lumps of grass. Frankly they just make a big mess of it. But at least the part I could get to looked nice when I was done. I did a number of local neighbors roadside weeds on the way and way back and thankfully didn't hit anything. Definitely raised the mower up when the tall grass was unknown.

Well, my neighbor did have a small ulterior motive, he asked if he could borrow the Kubota and go mow a path across the road on a property he was part owner in. The path was grass and he had mowed it before with his 2 series JD, so it was a "safe" mow. He traded his JD 2520 for the Z turn, and apparently that zturn won't go where a tractor will. No surprise there... So he just called me and said the tractor was safe and sound back at my barn. He just lives next door, the fireman, so I'll take the chance with him using my tractor. His JD SCUT had the same treadle arrangement and electric pto so he felt right at home. Now he has best of all worlds...cut an hour off his mowing, and has my tractor to use...he won't abuse the privilege. Very sensible guy.

 

[sseelhoff]

Loong day in the heat. "We" decided "we" want to raise guinea hens. So "we" needed to build a coop for the guinea chicks. Spent the day building in the heat. 99 degrees and pretty high humidity. The breeze did start to kick in later in the day, but I am worn out and thirsty. Coop is mostly done. Walls are up, roof is on and shingled. I have to finish the siding on the back and add some hardware cloth in the opening at the roof line. And build a door.