Gingerman

Gazebo retaining wall

Steve HardinLeave a comment

Since war has been declared on the backyard predators not much killing has been happening. The Ring camera likes to alert on the cats and chickens but we are not having great luck with it sending us alerts for predators. So at night I turn on the camera on my phone and watch it live while we are watching television. This way I can spot it if something comes to the back porch. Well Annmarie spotted something and I have gone out a couple of times to only find a cat. Friday night we spotted a skunk! This is probably the skunk that sprayed our Border Collie in the front yard. Chance still smells like skunk even after three baths. The trouble with this is that the skunk was coming towards the back door and I really did not want to get sprayed directly in the face. Washing the dog was as close as I want to get to the offensive part of a skunk. So I grabbed the spotlight and 22 pistol, Gingerman grabbed a shotgun and his phone light. As soon as it was safe to go out I was headed towards the garden when a voice came over the Ring camera telling me that something had jumped the gate and was headed towards the chicken coop. I went that way, spotted two different cats but nothing else when the Gingerman hollered and said he saw a black and white streak headed into the garden.

I ran that way and we scoped out the entire lavender, garden are and orchard and did not spot a skunk. My bet was it was hiding in the raspberry/blackberry patch. But that is so overgrown you kinda have to push your way through. No way I was going in there looking for a skunk. I went back in and the Gingerman took light and looked some more without any luck. I found a second good flashlight and put it back by the back porch. The weather was rainy and windy last night so the skunk did not come around. I do not believe the skunk killed the kitten but it did spray the dog so it needs to go away. It will spray the dog again if given a chance. I still think there is a town raccoon out there somewhere and that is what killed the kitten.

We are starting to get some washout on the downhill side of the gazebo platform. I am sure it is from the rain coming off the roof. So I switched gears and am starting to support the hillside. Large, barely able to move, rocks on the flat level area and then rocks at least six inches in size above that on the hillside. Some of those large rocks weigh so much that only three can be carried in the bucket of my tractor. It won’t lift the bucket with a fourth one present. I am going to use about half the rocks out in the alley way. I may have enough rocks for the support wall maybe. It will be close. I can always go on the back hillside, there is an endless supply of rocks there.

I know I am getting old, the big rocks make my butt and sternum hurt after I move them around for a few hours. I muscle them into the bucket and then into place. I was able to leave all the rocks in the bucket and just dump the bucket where I wanted them. I could just sort them in place at that point.

Gingerman sent me the link to the biannual farm consignment auction yesterday. There was 30 pages of equipment and supplies for sale. I have managed to cut it down to two pages of watched items. It’s a three hour, one way drive to pick up the equipment in Idaho. Once I realized that it was pretty easy to knock the list down from four pages to two. The list is probably below one page but they have 10 of the mini excavators for sale! I could move rocks all day long with one of those. They also have a bunch of accessories and extra attachments so I have all of it flagged so I can watch them. They also have several mini skid steer loaders. I could get into every nook and cranny of the barn and not have to do any hand digging! This would be the bomb!

Predators out of control

Steve HardinLeave a comment

My sister wanted to take the little orange kitty home, she had named it Cheese. Unfortunately, Saturday night something decided that cheese was on the menu. I went out Sunday morning to feed the kitty and found a head, skin and some intestines, the rest was gone! It was on the feeding ledge. Needless to say I was a little shocked as we had not heard anything, disappointed as we had been working on taming the kitty and fairly angry that something ate our kitten!

So I spent the morning moving our ring camera from watching the chicken coop to watching the cat feeding area. I have moved the shotgun to the back porch and we have an alert set so it will wake me up in the night. It is game on and I am going to win! I used the mint planter to put in a post and mounted the camera on top of that. It has night vision so we should be able to see anything that comes in. I even took the dinner bones and put them out to attract any predator that likes meat. This is such a stupid problem.

When I went out to the woodshed to get a shovel I opened the door and a bat fell down off the top of the door! The bat was not happy. I tried to right it several times but it kept rolling over onto its back. I used an old cat dish to scoop it up and try and put it on the ledge. It rolled off the ledge. I finally just left it alone. It kept making this clicking sound and my hearing aids loved it so they kept amplifying it! I did get the shovel.

The Gingerman and I have been talking about changing out the blades on the old mower. He brought over a 3/4” socket and wrench for the job. We decided to tack weld the bolt to the old blade so I could hold onto the blade and keep it from turning. We broke the tack weld twice so the third time it was more of a weld than a tack. It still took a board to pin the blade and Gingerman on a five foot cheater bar on the wrench to get it broke loose and taken apart. I had to grind the bolt off of the old blades and then reshape the head with the grinder. When we put them on we only put them on snugly. We did not put them on with the cheater bar. This is the first time in 15 years that the blades have been changed out. I actually broke one of the blades so they had to be replaced, the thing was so lopsided that you could not use it. When the PTO was engaged it felt like the entire tractor was trying to leave the ground for outer space, the shake was so bad.

I took some extra time and welded the cracks from both sides as we had the mower turned on its side. I tried to hit all the cracks and then paint over them so the welds don’t rust as easily. I use whatever color is on the shelf and works!

I then dug out the barn for an hour or so. I had to do most of it by hand as I am getting into the tight spaces. I only have the feed area left in the main part of the barn. I am not feeling it but it still needs to get done.

I filled the water area in Alcatraz with 2-3” rock in an attempt to keep the mud down. This should allow the animals to walk right up to the water and not have to get into any mud. I need to drag the ground in Alcatraz and remove about two inches of soil off the top. There is so much organic matter that nothing will grow. If I put all of that onto the compost piles I can get it moved out to the fields as fertilizer.

Cows tag and banded

Steve HardinLeave a comment

I had big plans for Saturday, I thought I may be able to finish the barn but the skunk Friday night had other plans. We had a skunk come into the front yard and Chance took umbrage. She ended up getting sprayed so badly that her neck turned a yellow color from all the skunk spray. She stunk so badly you could not get within ten feet of her. The skunk got away and we were unable to dispatch it. This meant that my priorities had to change. So Saturday morning I went to D and B and purchased some skunk stink free liquid and some soap that supposedly did the same thing. The liquid worked pretty good and then after rinsing that out I went for the skunk soap next. She smelled so much better after those two treatments that I figured I had gotten it all off of her. Nope, my nose had just been so abused during the washing process that the improvement had me believing I had it all. I did not and especially after she got wet again in the rain. I am going to have to wash her again. Skunks suck. I think the skunk had been eating my chicken eggs.

I messaged the nephews and Gingerman to see when we could arrange tag and band of the one male calf and tag the one female calf. Mind you the calves are four months old. Gannon wanted to do it right away as he was just coming back from helping someone else with cows. So the Gingerman and I went up and herded the cows back down to the barn lot. We got the calves separated into two pens and the female calf just kept smashing into the gate and fence trying to get away. We had to get a rope to tie her up so I could tag her ear. She made a cut on her forehead. The boy was worse, he was bigger and the bander would not fit so we ended up cutting him. Only the Gingerman knew how to do that so we held and he cut. Nope, I am definitely going to be tagging and banding way early from now on, that was fairly barbaric and traumatizing to Gannon! Luckily, the temperatures have dropped off and the fly population is low. We cleaned it up and put blue goop on it. It should heal fine but it was brutal. The pigeons currently number over 50 and the doves are everywhere. I am going to have to take some time next weekend to try and cull the population some.

Greenhouse getting closer to completion

Steve HardinLeave a comment

Summer is definitely here. We are getting fire and lightning weather advisory messages every few days and have not had rain for a few weeks until yesterday. Mind you I am not sure that 2/100” counts as rain but it came quickly and just dumped on us. I had to run out and put all of the tools for the greenhouse assembly into the greenhouse so they would stay dry.

I have been focused on getting the greenhouse completed. I do know that the water piece won’t happen until next year but I needed to get the fence up around the greenhouse so the sheep or cows don’t damage it when they come into the ram pasture. To make sure that it is safe I used all wooden posts so the animals could not bend them and I used three cattle panels. I had these twist on joint anchors we had purchases for the barn and I used them to connect the panels together, even if the panels ended up on a post and both ends are stapled. The fence is one contiguous piece of fencing. I always have trouble with the gates spreading when they animals start pushing on the fence so I left the post tall and connected a piece over the top of the gate so it does not spread open or close up. The gate is set so that outside pressure closes it more and it cannot be pushed through the gap. The chicken coop serves as a stopping point for it. I did not put horizontal braces in as I did not want to limit light. I feel like we are going to get super lucky on our placement. In the afternoon when it gets super hot the sun is blocked from the greenhouse by our large trees in the front yard. I don’t think we will have to use a heat screen cloth to keep the temperature down in the greenhouse.

Gingerman came out while I was working on greenhouse with grandson. We walked out to the old chicken coop to look for the tables and automatic vent openers I thought we had already purchased for the greenhouse. I was able to find both tables, some construction glue and a bunch of brand new gaskets for aluminum irrigation sprinklers. I did not find any automatic vent openers. We did find a new driveway light and post for the kids. I also found a few more boxes that I had not dug into in the old grain room. This might be where I stashed the progressive reloader I have not been able to find! I have a shotgun, a single reloader setup and a progressive but I am still digging around for the progressive. When I set up my man cave room one half will be for a jewelry bench with all of its associated tools and storage while the other half will be the three reloaders with all the accouterments and storage. I really want a tall safe for the room but I want an old one, plus the thing will weigh a ton, actually so I will have to reinforce the floor underneath the building with some more concrete blocks and piers. I may even have to build a new frame underneath the building and support that frame separately. It’s just a dream at this point. I want the jewelry setup far more.

I started assembling the work tables but after getting one finished I realize that I will need to buy several more. Luckily, we are headed towards the time when all the stores want to get rid of containers and soil at discounted prices. So I will be on the lookout for good deals. I have an idea to use pond liner and some 2”x8” boards, form up four to make the sides and then use the pond liner. I could use 1/4” drip line hose to create a drain that would go all the way to the floor to minimize water just running around everywhere and this would allow me to stack the planters onto a multi shelf rack and regulate the water for each unit. I am going to have to think about this some more.

I am of course missing one piece of the greenhouse. I did read the warranty from Harbor Freight. I had 90 days from the date of purchase to notify them of any issues. Since I purchased it years ago and had it stored in the machine shed, new in the box, that is not going to work for me. Luckily, it is just a panel for the door and I can order the material and cut one to fit. Those supplies have been ordered and are on their way. We got a remote thermometer and humidity detector that we are going to store in the greenhouse so we can start tracking and trending the temperatures. This will let us know how it is going to perform as winter approaches.

I had to stop and move some items out of the yard as our younger border collie has figured out how to get out of the yard. I moved the blocks that have been in the yard hoping that was how she was getting out of the yard. By the next day she had found a different way to get out of the yard. I had purchased eyelets in the past to mount on top of the posts on the side yard fence near the lavender in the past but had never had to use them. I had to use them. Of course I had run out of wire so this necessitated a trip to town. So far she has not gotten out but that doesn’t mean I fixed the problem. She could be getting out over the fence on the front hillside. Who knows she is a border collie and the smart ones are about impossible to keep inside once they figure out a way out.

Annmarie has been canning, we have over 24 pints of green beans already processed. They are going gangbusters and hopefully we can get another 24 before the plants give up. We picked three times this last week to get enough for that many pints. We are trying reusable lids but so far 1/8 on two test batches have failed. So the verdict is still out on whether we are going to keep using them. We will try them for the rest of the season and see if we continue to have issues with them. This is our first year trying them.

Granary repair

Steve HardinLeave a comment

I was given an old granary this year. It was from a very old combine and had been converted to hold grain for chickens. It had not been used in a very long time and the entire bottom had rusted out. It still had the old pto motor for an auger on the front. It was trashed but it was still there. I have finally gotten around to repairing it. The problem is I have never really attempted a metal project this big before. My one quarter at BMCC with the welding class to learn stick welding did not cover this. Especially since the Gingerman changed the welder to a wire feed system. I have been trying to teach myself to wire weld. It is not quite the same as stick welding.

I have spent a couple weekends cutting out the bottom with a disc cutting wheel on my DeWalt 60v grinder. I have accepted that to work with metal I do actually need to wear some protective gear. I am wearing long pants, long sleeve shirt, leather gloves and eye goggles when I grind or cut anything. I switch out the goggles with a welding helmet and welding gloves when I use the welder. I get popped on the arm or face every once in a while but the important stuff is protected. I needed to buy some sheet metal and when I went to Packy’s the only type they carry is 14 g. I do not have a sheet metal brake. I needed to bend an angle into the sheet metal, both sides. I cut the piece then tried to bend it with a hammer and some clamps. No go. So I then tried to bend it over a piece of angle iron with one piece under and over the bend and beat on it with a heavy hammer. No go. So then I ground. Groove on the bend line and tried again. No go. I then proceeded to cut two inch grooves along the crease line about every six inches, so I cut out about 25% of the material along the bend. I then put it in place, welded one side down and then started to beat on it with a hammer, jump on it and used the forks on the tractor to bend it to my will!! I still ended up with 1/4” air gap in a few places that was painful to fill in with the wire welder. It would have gone faster if I had used the stick welder. But who wants to do the conversion again and then convert it back? I am too lazy for that much swapping around.

I was able to get the first half welded on and welded the gate holder in place. I marked the drill holes for the gate but I think they are wrong. One side looks good but the other looks like I let it slip while I was marking holes. I will just drill one hole. Put the gate on, mark and drill a second hole, insert bolt then I can get the other four in the correct spot. It will most likely be the very last thing I attach and I am going to bolt it on instead of weld it on. I bought a grain gate just for this purpose.

A full sheet of 14 g sheet metal cost roughly $110. So I think I can make it all with this one full sheet, if I piece the other side together. It will be close. I want a second granary, five feet on each side and five feet high. I have been looking to see if there is one out there available. The reason I want that size is I can fill it with the bucket of my tractor. If I get a real tall one I will have to use a grain auger. At this point I may have all the structural material in scrap and would only need maybe 2 pieces of angle iron for the lid and all of the sheet metal. Each side could be done with a full sheet of sheet metal, I would need one for the bottom and one for the top, six full sheets plus the grain door and it would cost $700 in materials, plus $100 in welding wire. I am thinking that this is the way to go to get a second one. An old water tank would be the bomb! I may keep looking, if I mounted the tank on a downhill angle I could just put the gate on the low side, a fill lid on the high side and I would be set!

My welds are improving as the project progresses. I have had to lower the voltage to minimize burn through and I have had to increase the speed of the wire. I had turned it down but had to adjust it faster on three separate occasions. I will need to move over a couple of railroad ties to set it on. Slow and steady progress. Eventually, I would like to have enough storage to be able to go get our wheat truck filled with 3-4 types of grain/peas and then store it on the farm. One wheat truck full would get us through the winter for the sheep and the year for the chickens.