Texas Heat!

[Larry Caldwell]

I have read elsewhere on TBN that clothes dryer static reduction sheets work well to keep the mice out too.
I kind of like the smell of them myself!
Ron

Clothes dryer sheets will keep ants and other bugs out of electrical boxes and such. I don't know about mice.

 

[txdon]

I finally managed to get it from below after digging in a little more so the grill would not hit the bank.

 

[txdon]

The mud and the clay I dug out was used for a berm to catch water, to raise and widen the dam, and the rest I threw on the back side of the dam.

 

[txdon]

I was hurrying because rain was forecasted for today. I could see it in the distance but it again missed us. I calling it done for now on this pond and will smooth out the spoils after they dry for a few weeks.

Where the tractor is sitting the water will be three feet deep, the bottom of the pond will be nine feet deep.

 

[txdon]

Tomorrow I get to start on "Frog Pond". It is smaller. No rain is in the forecast
Here is the before pictures. I'll be using that tree in the pond for firewood this winter.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Thanks for posting Don. It is good that you put the tractor in the picture for perspective. Bet your tractor is thirsty and tired. How about the operator?

 

[txdon]

After I got through this evening I ran three miles.:thumbsup:
If I would drive a car that long I would be very tired.

Snowing in Amarillo! Is it time to winterize this thread?

 

[pacerron]

I was hurrying because rain was forecasted for today. I could see it in the distance but it again missed us. I calling it done for now on this pond and will smooth out the spoils after they dry for a few weeks.

Where the tractor is sitting the water will be three feet deep, the bottom of the pond will be nine feet deep.

Finally see a little dirt on your equipment!

 

[bindian]

I finally managed to get it from below after digging in a little more so the grill would not hit the bank.

Don,
I realize you were on a rain deadline, but could you have back bladed that and started making it less of a steep slope? That way, you just doze the spoils out. Bet you are a tired camper tonight!
Great job!
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

We got a little over a half inch of rain since 5 pm, Thursday afternoon. Nice and slow. I went out in it and put out more rye grass seed..........and soaked up the cool feelin' rain.:cloud9:

Bring on the dry, cool winter.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Western]

We got a little over a half inch of rain since 5 pm, Thursday afternoon. Nice and slow. I went out in it and put out more rye grass seed..........and soaked up the cool feelin' rain.:cloud9:

Bring on the dry, cool winter.
hugs, Brandi

Brandi,
Good deal on the rain!! we only got 4/10ths's, but will take it for sure. My Gulf Rye is up every where, but I do need to fill in a few place that were skipped last year. I just don't want it in my yard proper.

Don , that hole is getting bigger by the day, much more so and you'll need a permit or someone will want to build a treatment plant there:laughing: kidding of course

 

[txdon]

Don,
I realize you were on a rain deadline, but could you have back bladed that and started making it less of a steep slope? That way, you just doze the spoils out. Bet you are a tired camper tonight!
Great job!
hugs, Brandi

I don't think the blade would work because of the damp clay. the spoils
would have stuck to the blade. I had to shovel the sticky clay out of the bucket many many times, the other times I had to really shake the bucket upside down. If I was lucky it came out in a big plop the shape of the bucket. Where ever you see black that is the silt that has the consistency of grease. Underneath that was damp very sticky orange clay and underneath that was sticky gray clay. The gray clay was the easiest to work with but it was only at the 5' level.

I might be able to blade it to a less steep angle with a few more weeks of
drying, if not, erosion will take care of it.

Ron, between the camera being kind to the Kubota orange, the drought, and the dry sandy land out here you would never guess the tractor hasn't been washed in three years. Even the mud I got into last week will just dry and fall off, eventually.

 

[pacerron]

Ron, between the camera being kind to the Kubota orange, the drought, and the dry sandy land out here you would never guess the tractor hasn't been washed in three years. Even the mud I got into last week will just dry and fall off, eventually.

That's a plus for Texas. Up here the clay turns to concrete and doesn't even wash clean from the bucket without vigorious brushing and scraping. I like my old flat bottom, rather open sided, FEL bucket the best. The new standard bucket, bathtub shaped, on the NH even gets snow stuck in it.
Ron

 

[Bird]

Will wonders never cease? I only got .2" of rain yesterday, but my electric power never went off. That's something new.

 

[jinman]

9/10" here from on/off showers all day, perfect rain. It's cool here this morning at 42 degrees, but the air is still and damp. Dry grass is really greening up. The armadillos have quit coming to my yard because they can dig in the woods.:thumbsup:

Don: When looking at your spoils, I just think of how many trips you made into and out of that pond. I bet you could drive the path with your eyes closed. Keep your loader good and greased. I was greasing mine twice a day when working in my pond.

 

[txdon]

Yep Jim, my heart was getting a workout backing out of that hole. With the loader full of wet silt and clay I was getting to be an expert on two and three wheels and quickly having to drop the bucket to keep from tipping over.

I think I also maxed out also the other day when doing sprints up my hill and almost stepping on a coral snake!

 

[jinman]

I think I also maxed out also the other day when doing sprints up my hill and almost stepping on a coral snake!

Wow Don! I've only seen one live coral snake in the wild at our old home place when I was about 15. You've posted pictures of one and this is at least the 2nd one you've seen since you've been posting on TBN. Actually, if I had to choose between stepping on a coral snake or a rattler, I'd take the coral because they really need to chew on you or get the end of a finger to be able to bite you with their small mouth. Are snakes a problem in your area when responding to grass/brush fires? I suspect they go underground in a fire and are more likely to be seen during flooding conditions than around a fire.

 

[txdon]

Jim coral snakes plentiful around here. I see half dozen a year. I haven't seen snakes at fires. Here is a 29er that snuck up behind a chair on the porch this summer. (29 yellow stripes).

The Lee county copper heads are the ones that I can't share the yard with, they are just mean. Whipper has got bit twice and her poor head really swells up, but in three days she back to normal. I know her snake bark now and help her get rid of the copperheads in the yard.

 

[bindian]

Brandi,
I just don't want it in my yard proper.

Where can I get a proper yard?:confused3: I don't have one.:laughing:
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

Jim coral snakes plentiful around here. I see half dozen a year. I haven't seen snakes at fires. Here is a 29er that snuck up behind a chair on the porch this summer. (29 yellow stripes).

The Lee county copper heads are the ones that I can't share the yard with, they are just mean. Whipper has got bit twice and her poor head really swells up, but in three days she back to normal. I know her snake bark now and help her get rid of the copperheads in the yard.

Dang it Don. I never have seen a Coral Snake that big. Usually I see them around 16-18 inches.

Booger has taken on a Copperhead or two. Here is a photo of what they can do to a dog.
hugs, Brandi