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Today is my Bday so Hubby took me to lunch at a good restaurant that we weren't sure would reopen after last year. Excellent food! Yesterday I dipped 2 batches of beeswax candles (24/batch) so am feeling my right shoulder blade this morning. They smell sooo good. Wrong time of year, but needed to make more - will just be fewer to make come fall.
Today is windy, rainy, haily - will wait 5 min. and let you know what's next.
Happy Birthday!!
 
After @ThePrincess We took a walk to the north end and on way back and planning where the chest and english walnuts will will be planted, The Princess spotted an old tree 50-60 foot tall that was flowering. After closer inspection it was actually 3 very old pear trees. We didn't even realize they were there.

Ben

I have also found old pear trees. I used to metal detect around old house places I remembered from my childhood out hunting. Sometimes there was nothing left but part of a chimney... or an old pear tree was also a clue.

It's amazing how long they live.
 
I worked 3 hours in strong winds to replace the wiring on a trailer.
I bought new wiring and new LED lights.
I ran the wires through a split cable loom, heat shrank the ends so water doesn't get in, and used a wire brush to clean the metal so I had a good ground connection.
Plugged it into my truck and it did not work. 4 wires and 2 of them were bad.
You would think I was smart enough to get out my meter before I went to all the trouble. You can bet I will ohm out the wiring harness tomorrow if I can find one. The stores I went to today didn't have 25 footers only 20 feet.
 
Spent most of a rainy day in the shop. Wife bought a prefab chicken coop. It needed to be painted before assembly. So today was a coat of primer. I couldn't believe how much that wood sucked up. Gonna have to got tomorrow and buy another pint of primer and get some small brushes to get the close up work done.. Hopefully I can finish priming tomorrow and start painting for real next week.

Have I mentioned how much I HATE painting???
 
Have I mentioned how much I HATE painting???
Lol... you and me both. A friend told me more than once I was the most dangerous man alive with a can of spray paint... or a brush! I've always wondered if I hate painting because I'm bad at it or bad at it because I hate it?
biggrin.gif
At the end of the day the result is the same!

I did a little work on the chicken pen today. I think I have an egg thief... Either that or dad gathered the eggs and didn't tell me. Regardless, the pen needed a little work.
 
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Spent most of a rainy day in the shop. Wife bought a prefab chicken coop. It needed to be painted before assembly. So today was a coat of primer. I couldn't believe how much that wood sucked up. Gonna have to got tomorrow and buy another pint of primer and get some small brushes to get the close up work done.. Hopefully I can finish priming tomorrow and start painting for real next week.

Have I mentioned how much I HATE painting???


I sort of like painting and am good at it. We painted our entire house in Orlando inside and out before we sold it, and it looked great.

Wished I could trade, you do my dishes and the laundry for a week and I paint your house !!!

Today I am still debating if I want the Covid vaccine or not. I got an appointment tomorrow. I even asked my cousin who has a phd in biology and works for big pharma doing research what I should do, and she wasn't much help. She told me she was not involved in the making of the vaccine, it's basically an experiment, it might protect you some or not, she hasn't gotten it ( none available in Germany at the moment, except for those over 70 or working in the hospital) , she told me if I do get it, not to get the one they took off the market in the EU ( astra something) , nor the J & J which is basically close to the same thing. I have asked a few friends that are in the medical field and their answers vary. Some say they got the vaccine, because if you get sick with it , it can be much worse or kill you, so better do anything you can to not get it, some say , no way are they getting an experimental vaccine, some say they already had it, no big deal, they will let their immunity deal with it.
So , it's a crap shot either way.....I have till tomorrow afternoon to decide
( we can get the vaccine because we are farmers btw, we are in the second group to get it)
 
Lol... you and me both. A friend told me more than once I was the most dangerous man alive with a can of spray paint... or a brush! I've always wondered if I hate painting because I'm bad at it or bad at it because I hate it? View attachment 63365 At the end of the day the result is the same!

The wife hates it when I paint anything, she says that I use too much paint or my coats are too heavy, or I'm painting in the wrong direction, or ......

It's funny, 5 years ago when I cut the rust out of the lower panels on my old truck I was able to paint and blend it so you couldn't tell where I had worked....

I guess it's just when my wife is watching that I screw-up the painting... wonder why that is?
 
Sonya123....where do you live? Asking because you mentioned you can get a shot because you are a farmer.

Around here, I learned that men don't typically paint. That's a woman's job, and so is doing laundry. Men widows don't even do their own laundry. One of their daughters will pick it up and do it for them.

Digging up an area for the strawberry bed area today, and maybe dragging some extra sand into the chicken runs. Four more roosters to kill this morning, and then my hens won't look so ragged. That'll be nine extra for the freezer. Dinner tonight at my cousins, so I'll be making something to bring.
 
The wife hates it when I paint anything, she says that I use too much paint or my coats are too heavy, or I'm painting in the wrong direction, or ......

It's funny, 5 years ago when I cut the rust out of the lower panels on my old truck I was able to paint and blend it so you couldn't tell where I had worked....

I guess it's just when my wife is watching that I screw-up the painting... wonder why that is?
Hand her the brush and walk away.
Put me in the hate to paint group. There are some things I do not like to do and painting is one along with hanging drywall.
 
The Princess claims she wants to contribute to remodeling but long ago I ruled out her using power tools after a frightening event with a power drill. So painting is in her domain.

The 3 things I don't like to do is mowing the lawn ( hot sweaty and needs to be redone in a week) , fixing very old plumbing ( touch something the wrong way and the work triples) and managing software/network upgrades and changes. I handle the plumbing she does the rest.
Ben
 
Great day so far here. Just came home with a truckload of Living Wall Garden containers. The company ended back in the ‘80s, and the new owner wants an empty barn. Hundreds and hundreds available, all free. I was next to a guy getting his 5th truckload. I now will be able to grow easier in a smaller space, growing upwards. These stack, with a pole going through them. Game changer. Moffat, the designer, grew everything in them, from corn (on top) to cabbages and strawberries. Neat idea.
 
Happy belated Birthday @LadyLocust! Hope it was a great one!

Been crazy busy mowing full time for the folks for almost 2 weeks now. Grass is almost completely dry already. No rain is not good. Fires are already popping up around us. Definitely selling some cattle. Going to be a rough feed year.
Hubby spent hours yesterday putting new blades on the mower after the rocky area I have to mow every year ate the old ones up. He also fixed a bunch of stuff on the tractor (little Branson tractor) and got it all cleaned up for me. I was so surprised and very grateful. What mowing I have left will be so much easier now.
Picked up my new portable dishwasher and he installed it for me and we gave it a few test runs. Leaked right off but he determined it was the seal put in wrong and fixed it. So far no more leaking. It came in a couple days early so that was a nice surprise and it ended up on sale between the time I ordered it and when it came so got an additional $160 off when I picked it up and mentioned the sale. I feel so spoiled! Excited to learn what to do for the sanitizer mode I can supposedly use for our canning jars.
Got started planting in the garden late last night and transplanted small plants to bigger “pots” (cups) and gave them a drink of light fertilizer to hopefully give them a boost. Still have a lot to do and definitely shopping for a greenhouse for next year.
Didn’t get our canning done for the weekend but did get the new canning cabinet in for all our canned goods. Have to order more hardware and shelves for it next week. Sure looks like we haven’t been canning every weekend for a while now once the jars were in the cupboard. Doesn’t help we’ve been eating all of it far more than anything else.
Took a grass fed cow to the locker last week. Live weight 1455, hanging 756. Not bad considering the lack of pasture. Looking forward to picking it up in a month. Got all the old meat and bones used up and ready for the new. Taking another in in 5 weeks. Mom and dad get 1/2 of that one. They wanted grain fed. Then a break till October when I take in another cow. Should have plenty of jerky and meat for canning for a while. Doesn’t pay to haul them to the market so might as well put them in the freezer.
Getting calves prepped for the special feeder sale coming up. Prices seem to be looking up a bit on calves so that’s a plus.

Hope y’all have been staying out of trouble. Have a great Sunday!
 
Great day so far here. Just came home with a truckload of Living Wall Garden containers. The company ended back in the ‘80s, and the new owner wants an empty barn. Hundreds and hundreds available, all free. I was next to a guy getting his 5th truckload. I now will be able to grow easier in a smaller space, growing upwards. These stack, with a pole going through them. Game changer. Moffat, the designer, grew everything in them, from corn (on top) to cabbages and strawberries. Neat idea.
That sounds great. Please share pictures once you have it setup and then running.

Ben
 
Today, I had a range day, kept it down to an affordable limit, about 300 rounds evenly split between 223 and 22LR. Moving some of the plants out doors. Did some horse trading and got rid of some of my extra plants. Got 1200 SMR-Primers and 12 boxes of canning lids in exchange for several trays of starter plants. I'm happy, they're happy, the wife is not happy she thinks the plants are worth a lot of money...

I hope to do some container planting this afternoon.
 
Watching little granddaughter and the neighboring farm kids on the grass screaming, spraying each other with the hose, and using the slip and slide. Even the old heeler dog is excited and joining in.
Roosters are done, hens have to be happier. That's nine done this weekend. Husband just went out to mow somewhere. German chocolate cake is made for tonight, and I'm going outside to dig.
In the high 70's right now, and not much wind.
 
Thanks DoubleR. After as many birthdays as I've had the only good thing is still having them.
Another day of trailer wiring.
It took me 2 days, 6 trips to town, 1 cut finger, 1 burned hand, got hit by the sprinkler twice, it's too cold to be in the sprinkler, 50 trips back to the shop for stuff I forgot to bring with me to the trailer, and around $80 but I finally have the new lights working.
It's only 4 wires how hard can that be. I installed CT and MRI scanners for a living and the trailer lights beat me up. I can take the trailer to get the wood for the trailer deck on Tuesday.
Now I'm going to mow the yard.
Retired guys aren't supposed to work this much.
 
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Sonya123....where do you live? Asking because you mentioned you can get a shot because you are a farmer.

Around here, I learned that men don't typically paint. That's a woman's job, and so is doing laundry. Men widows don't even do their own laundry. One of their daughters will pick it up and do it for them.

Digging up an area for the strawberry bed area today, and maybe dragging some extra sand into the chicken runs. Four more roosters to kill this morning, and then my hens won't look so ragged. That'll be nine extra for the freezer. Dinner tonight at my cousins, so I'll be making something to bring.

NM is now everyone over 16.
 
Granddaughter was talking to her friend in NM that just was able to go back to school last week for the first time in person since March 2020. But the teachers aren't going in, the kids have to go in and work on their computer, just like at home. (Cibola HS). Maybe they all want High Schoolers to get the shot first.
 
Getting my second Covid shot this morning. Wish me luck. Tomorrow will be the hard day. Everybody I have talked to says the day after the second shot is when they get flu symptoms. I am getting the Pfizer vaccine. :good luck: Fingers crossed.
 
Granddaughter was talking to her friend in NM that just was able to go back to school last week for the first time in person since March 2020. But the teachers aren't going in, the kids have to go in and work on their computer, just like at home. (Cibola HS). Maybe they all want High Schoolers to get the shot first.
So who's there with them? The janitors?
 
Had a busy few days.


Yesterday did video
Then Sunday School and Church
Local grocery for sales
Our power was off from big storms (tornado sirens went off 3 times in the middle of the night) from midnight Thursday night until about 3 pm Friday
Set up my vitamins for the month
Cooked bell peppers, onions and jalapenos for the week
Made a couple of phone calls

Today, walked and walked dogs
Did laundry for the week
Took eBay photos
Grilled some pork steaks for lunches
Made an Unstuffed Pepper Casserole with an extra aluminum loaf pan to freeze for later
I feel like I'm about done in!
Not noticing much improvement in thumb, but still hopeful!
 
Dads old craftsman LT3000 lawn tractor bit the dust earlier this year, exhaust valve stuck open. The motor is a 20hp OHV Briggs. I spent the last few days trying to find a replacement engine, hours of searching the internet. Through a lawn mower forum, I found a company up in Muncie IN named “Small Engine Warehouse”.

I doubted they had a replacement engine for a mower so old but called them this morning anyway. Surprise! they did. With shipping it’s $513, comes with everything needed but a muffler, have to use the old one from the other engine.

The other big news… dad is finally tired of broken-down fences and cows being out. I wanted to correct the situation 6months ago but stayed out of it. The business deal is between dad and my grtnephew. I let dad deal with him, besides, I’m known for being subtle as a brick.

Dad asked me to help this morning… I started with the chainsaw cutting saplings and vines off over grown fences. This afternoon I managed to wrap a 5ft piece of electric fence wire up in the chainsaw… took an hour to undo that mess. I got a lot done, 70ft of fence cleared off and another small section by the corral. Dad got a really good fence charger working again that I'd bought him. It’s not one of those pieces of junk solar fence chargers that boy has been using. Those stop working every time a puffy cloud goes over or there is a heavy dew.

Dad also got the pole saw ready for me to use tomorrow. I’ll start on a new section of fence with a tractor. It’s so badly over grown and poorly repaired it’s not worth trying to save. I’m going to wrap the fence with a chain and rip that whole section out with the tractor, posts and all. I’ll rebuild that section from scratch after I cut a bunch of tree limbs that are hanging too low.

Oh, got laundry in the wash. Too tired to cook so it's sandwich time...
 
Dads old craftsman LT3000 lawn tractor bit the dust earlier this year, exhaust valve stuck open. The motor is a 20hp OHV Briggs. I spent the last few days trying to find a replacement engine, hours of searching the internet. Through a lawn mower forum, I found a company up in Muncie IN named “Small Engine Warehouse”.

I doubted they had a replacement engine for a mower so old but called them this morning anyway. Surprise! they did. With shipping it’s $513, comes with everything needed but a muffler, have to use the old one from the other engine.

The other big news… dad is finally tired of broken-down fences and cows being out. I wanted to correct the situation 6months ago but stayed out of it. The business deal is between dad and my grtnephew. I let dad deal with him, besides, I’m known for being subtle as a brick.

Dad asked me to help this morning… I started with the chainsaw cutting saplings and vines off over grown fences. This afternoon I managed to wrap a 5ft piece of electric fence wire up in the chainsaw… took an hour to undo that mess. I got a lot done, 70ft of fence cleared off and another small section by the corral. Dad got a really good fence charger working again that I'd bought him. It’s not one of those pieces of junk solar fence chargers that boy has been using. Those stop working every time a puffy cloud goes over or there is a heavy dew.

Dad also got the pole saw ready for me to use tomorrow. I’ll start on a new section of fence with a tractor. It’s so badly over grown and poorly repaired it’s not worth trying to save. I’m going to wrap the fence with a chain and rip that whole section out with the tractor, posts and all. I’ll rebuild that section from scratch after I cut a bunch of tree limbs that are hanging too low.

Oh, got laundry in the wash. Too tired to cook so it's sandwich time...
At least it was electric fence and not barbed wire!

Ben
 
I'm working on building a ten foot high jack leg anti-personnel fence alone the property line. The dumbass neighbors logged their land...which irritated me. They also said I could have as much wood from the slash piles as I wanted....so I'm using the wood to build a medieval/post apocalyptic barricade all along the edge of the property facing them.
 
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