Good morning!!!!

[txdon]

Good morning! 35˚ clear skies. I just threw the last two logs in the wood burning stove - the inside temp is 71˚. I only start the fire on days in the 30s and I have already depleated the pile - out to the woods to find a dead tree that is about a year dead. I can just about tell the length of death by weight of the wood - No autopsy needed.

Autopsy, that reminds me, its dry enough for a tractor road trip to bury my Mom's cow that died last week (old age), it has been cold enough maybe it does not stink, NOT.

Our VFD voted to buy 3 new air packs so I get to go shopping, any suggestions from anyone who has bought one recently?

Instead of building more buildings I'm downsizing. My nephew said he will pass on buying the 1947 Farmall so I need to start ordering a tie rod. It has to be in good working order before I sell it to the general public. Any one know a good price to ask?

 

[daugen]

Our VFD voted to buy 3 new air packs so I get to go shopping, any suggestions from anyone who has bought one recently?

Don, it's been a long time since I lugged one of these around, and I think way back when we only got half an hour on a bottle
but Scott was to airpacks like Kleenex was to bathroom tissue. And once you start stocking parts, you kind of get in bed with one manufacturer
or another. I bet these things cost a couple grand a piece. Cheap if you save someone's life...

I wonder if Amazon sells them...

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning! 45F @ 7:00 AM. Sun and clouds mixed. High 58F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

Another front comes through tonight dropping as much as an inch, then a series of storms are due in over the next week or so bring another 4". Fingers crossed...

Emptied the wood stove first thing this morning so I wouldn't have to do it in the rain tomorrow. That should last four or five days if I remember to open all the dampers before I hit the sack so all the embers will turn to ash. Started into the second cord of wood for the year last week, so I'm burning a little more than last year but nothing like you folks in really cold country.

Need to take a look inside the rain gauge today. The little guard I made to keep the birds off came loose, and the intake got loaded up with poop. I think some got down inside, as it filled up with water in last week's storm causing very erratic readings.

Have a good one, folks!

 

[mostly_gas]

Good morning all. 29F this morning and sunny, calm winds. Forecast for 60F light winds and sunny until Saturday. Finished up a couple of hours consulting last night and this morning, Costco run this morning, and split firewood on TMA.

 

[bakerg]

Good morning, woke up to 2 1/2" of snow and a temperature of 27F, dropping to 19F this afternoon.
Hope that all who are ailing are feeling better.

 

[300UGUY]

17 here, not getting much higher. Going to lunch with friends, then back home to plow out paths for me and the dogs to exercise on. Then to reorganize the closet, I have some old clothes to take to the SA. Other than that, not much. Have a good day, guys!

 

[rswyan]

23.9F with a bit of light snow occasionally ... cold front just passed through about an hour ago, temp has dropped about 6F since 09:00 ... low tonight is predicted to be 7F.

Just finished up making some food for the hypostomus plecostomus: cut a 1 1/2" x 1" piece of stem off some broccoli and chopped it up in around 1/8" pieces and then blanched in in boiling water for 60 seconds. Stuck it in the freezer to cool it off for a few minutes and then dropped a couple of pieces into the tank.

He's already been out to investigate (usually don't see him much during the day) and is sitting out near the front of the 10g, next to what's left, kinda like he might be guarding it. The danios and plattys managed to pick at it on it's way down to the bottom. I have one medium-sized, fully-cooked shrimp thawing as well, which I suspect will be welcomed

Tested the filled 55g for ammonia this morning and it's already reading around 0.50 to 0.25 ppm (down from 3 to 4 ppm) ... so it looks like the bacteria off to a good start. Will retest tomorrow morning and if it's down to zero I'll dose it with ammonia again to take it back up to 2 - 3 ppm and see how long it takes it to drop to zero.

Have to run down to the hardware store and pick up an o-ring for the union on the other RUGF, as well as a second petcock for an air bleed on the hard pipe and some tubing for siphoning the tanks. Should be able to get the other filter hooked up later today.

Also need to check out a stand for the other 55g that I found on craigs ...

Have a good day all ...

 

[daugen]

RS, fish pictures! How about a Platty driving a little tractor?

Good trip downtown, TSC had just the culvert pipe I needed, a 20 foot double wall 12 incher.
Need to hook up the trailer and go back and get it. Always fun to walk the equipment lot at TSC though my local one is very small.

 

[farmer2009]

Farmer, how many times do you change out birds a year? How are your cows doing?

We raise about 6 flocks a year. Depends on the calendar sometimes it's only 5.

Cows are doing good. Eating hay and any new growth of the wheat. How's your cattle?

 

[sodamo]

66°F and .27 inches rain last 24 hours

Be safe
Have a great day

David Sent from my iPad Air using TractorByNet

 

[toppop52]

Itching is better today, 23° going to 49° I'm told. Sunny and nice with a strong southerly breeze, rain later they say, changing to flurries, tomorrow is supposed to be around freezing.

 

[daugen]

We raise about 6 flocks a year. Depends on the calendar sometimes it's only 5.

Cows are doing good. Eating hay and any new growth of the wheat. How's your cattle?

now if my memory is good, that's almost half a million chickens a year.
Geez, they must pay you ten dollars a chicken, I want to be a Farmer too!
I just bought boneless chicken breasts for $1.99 again this week.
So they are paying you in pennies, not dollars, still.........
yet hamburger hardly ever goes below 3 or 4 bucks a pound.
I think the chicken industry needs better lobbyists.
I'm sure there are some out of work oil company lobbyists they could hire.

 

[toppop52]

Drew, glad the mouth is healing, take care.

 

[rswyan]

tp,

Hope things turn out well on the path report ... good to hear you're getting some relief on the itching :thumbsup:

 

[rswyan]

RS, fish pictures!

Thinking about doing an African tank and a SA/CA tank.

If I go that route I might pick up one of these guys:

Gold Nugget Plecostomus
​

How about a Platty driving a little tractor?

How about a Platty chewing on some shrimp instead ?

 

[daugen]

Plecos are just great prehistoric fish, the trashmen of the fishtank world.
And surprisingly durable...sort of like an aquatic crow.
And rarely as pretty as that gold nugget one.

thanks Randy. Now if I would stop trying to drink hot coffee, even with my head tilted over...

Ran the Gravely for about two hours rolling mud ruts, and it was just dry enough I managed to not get stuck once.
Very unusual...usually I go just a little too far into the muck.
Windy day, good for drying, but not so good for my attempt to blow leaves off the driveway when the wind was going in the opposite direction.
So, chores done, time to chill. Literally, temps are falling. All good, I need to prune those fruit trees and these cold nights are causing the leaves to finally fall off.
Which should elicit little sympathy from those of you shoveling snow at the moment. Roy hope that drive wasn't too bad.

 

[farmer2009]

now if my memory is good, that's almost half a million chickens a year. Geez, they must pay you ten dollars a chicken, I want to be a Farmer too! I just bought boneless chicken breasts for $1.99 again this week. So they are paying you in pennies, not dollars, still......... yet hamburger hardly ever goes below 3 or 4 bucks a pound. I think the chicken industry needs better lobbyists. I'm sure there are some out of work oil company lobbyists they could hire.

Hey Drew, I just found a new job for you. The poultry farmers lobbyists. Only qualification is to get us that $10/chicken.. We raise 5-6lb birds. 94,000 birds/flock. So yea. Half a million birds a year. And yep it's cents per pound and very very few at that.

Chickens are a very efficient animal. Pound of feed/ pound of gain on cattle is about 7:1. Chicken is 1.75:1. Hog about 5:1. Chickens are a 2 level process and about a 65 day turn around. Egg laying to processing. Cows are a 3 level process and 18-24 months from birth to processing. See the difference.

 

[Jim Shooz]

Eric Here's an idea to move your sheep around and save your dog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OGKg7tQdwg

It would also be an excuse to buy a drone. Strictly for work purposes only of course :thumbsup:

 

[txdon]

Good morning all, another wet start to the day here.

At least yesterday it stayed dry for a few hours in the afternoon, giving me chance to dig in an ex-electricity pole strainer post. If I was sensible, I would have got a tractor mounted post hole digger long ago. I have to keep reminding myself that I still dig with a spade for a bit of physical exercise. Unfortunately my joints don't quite see it that way and are none too happy when it comes to tamping the soil back into the hole. I must have looked a little rough when I came in as my wife actually suggested I should consider getting a post knocker.

Language check - UK to Texas translator help please.
ex-electricity pole strainer post? The added word "strainer" has me confused.
Spade? Shovel or a hand post hole digger - two handles like a clam pulling dirt from hole?
post knocker? Tractor mounted driver or hand held driver?

 

[wngsprd]

24 going to 35.

Don, I had questions about those same terms from Eric, but I think if he translates into Texan, I'll understand just fine.

Planning on my usual trip to the gym this morning, and then if the ground is still frozen, take the tractor out for the first time in a couple of weeks, and go cut down two standing dead oaks across the creek. Time to get the chainsaw and splitter working. Sharpened a couple of chains yesterday.