kubota tractor

Gazebo ready for roof

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Well it was time to make some progress on the gazebo. The final step in the assembly process is to get the roof up. Since the crane thing was not an option for me, I needed to use Plan C. I mounted the two ten foot posts on the front of the pallet forks on top of a pallet. I drilled a hole in one and attached a bolt with a hook thinking I could somehow attach it to the fork railing. Instead I ended up running a tie down through the upper slats and cranking it tight. I used a chain around the bottom of the post tied to the fork. I did not want the bottom to give out at all. I then drove over to the Gazebo opening and tried to get the posts through the opening. I could not tilt the platform enough to get the posts inside the Gazebo. So I had to tear down my post setup, toss the posts to the side and drive the tractor into the Gazebo. Once inside I mounted the two posts then proceeded to use the scraps of 2×4 from the house window trim to stabilize the posts and to build a top that is hollow. This is because we will need to put a ladder up through the middle to bolt the center roof pieces in place.

Once I had the platform built I went over to the pile of roof pieces and dug around and tried to figure out how to attach the roof to the outer wall. There is a weird small attachment piece that is bent on three angles. I could not figure out how it went onto the gazebo edge. Gingerman helped me roll the center piece over to the gazebo and then lift it up onto my fancy dancy platform. This would not have been possible to do alone it weighs too much. We took the pickup and trailer over and loaded up the roof pieces. Because I have the tractor with the pallet forks all tied up! I should have moved the roof pieces over with the tractor before building the platform.
I went inside for the day and was talking to Annmarie while she made homemade tomato paste. This is not super easy and not very much is obtained but it tastes great! We were talking and I told her I was unsure how the gazebo roof kept birds out of the tall peaked ridges between each piece. Then it dawned on me, the little weird triangle piece on the roof attachment is the part that goes up into the ridge! Now it will be super easy to get all the roof pieces installed.

Gingerman and I got an impact driver, drill and some large head treated wood anchors. The floor in the barn is coming up in a few places as the old screws have rusted off. It was perfect time to work inside as it rained for a whopping 15 minutes. The rain gauge did not even register the rain. Once we had the floor repaired we set up the sorting chute and unwrapped the old hay so the sheep can tear into it and create bedding. They will spread it out as they tear through it. We will need the chute to tag and band the lambs in a couple of weeks.

Cow hay now on the farm

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It never fails, when I need to do anything with the hay it always rains. Labor Day was no different, just as I was finishing up transporting the last load to the farm it started to rain! This is great timing as it is going to sit out for a week until it can be loaded into the machine shed.

I have been trying to get last years big bale discards from a source all summer long. It was going to be discounted and I wanted enough that I was hoping to have it delivered. This did not work out at all. Annmarie has been “reminding” me all summer that the cows need hay for the winter and I am being a cheapskate. There is nothing wrong with being a cheapskate when possible but she was right it was getting late in the season to be buying hay. The real problem with buying hay is I only have a 7500# 16’ bumper pull trailer. So I can only fit four large bales at a time on it which causes problems when you want to pickup 60 bales of hay.

Normally, I purchase all of my hay from Bluview Farms. I always wait until September to purchase it. So I went with this option again as it fits the bill nicely. They are only four miles from where we live so I can take an entire day and just run back and forth with four large bales at a time. Unfortunately, they are selling their farm and moving which is going to cause me issues next year. I really need two semi truck loads delivered. The second problem is that I do not have a tractor large enough to unload the hay and restack it. I am not buying a third tractor to use once a year. The third problem is our old pickup may not be able to haul a large gooseneck trailer if I have to pickup the hay myself.

So that being said Mr Gingerman is coming over today to stack all of the large bales into the machine shed. I think we can get 50 bales, stacked four high in the hay storage area. I can toss a chain around them and pull them down with the little tractor. Once they are down my new Kubota 3301 can lift a bale about 4-6” off the ground and I can drive it anywhere on the property fairly easily. This is much better than pushing it along the ground which is only what the little John Deere 2520 can accomplish. Mind you, I have fed the cows large bales almost exclusively but I keep hoping to make it easier.

What does this mean? I need to find a source of hay that can deliver it by the semi load and unload and stack it into the machine shed or I need to purchase a larger pickup and trailer so that I can haul 10-14 bales at a time. Fortunately, I was able to pickup a F350 Diesel this week for a steal. Again, the Dodge 10 cylinder is a beast but it is starting to show its years and it has 180k miles on it. I just purchased tires for it at the beginning of summer but they are the same size as the new Ford so I will get them swapped out. The Dodge is rough on the exterior and rough on the interior, a true farm vehicle. Once I get the tires swapped I will be offering it up for sale, cheap!

I have the new truck, now I may need a new trailer, gooseneck. I do not want anything fancy. I want it very functional and capable of hauling a lot of weight. I can even rewire the lights and brakes if necessary. So if you know of anything “cheap” let me know I would appreciate it.

Gazebo moving along

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The grain bin gazebo is starting to come together. I as usual did not watch any videos, ask anyone and spent 10 minutes looking at pictures on the internet as a precursor to building said gazebo. The guy I purchased the parts from told me it was the bottom 10 feet of a 20 foot grain bin, he gave me two tubs of bolts and nuts, four floor anchors, a pile of roof anchors, a door, the roof parts and central roof ring. Supposedly the only thing missing was the vent cap for the roof. This was promptly unloaded and ignored for two years.

Well, let me say that it is definitely the bottom half due to how heavy the pieces are. We did not get enough pieces to go to ten feet, only eight feet and if we put up a full ring for the roof then you would have hit your head every time you went in and out of the gazebo. We could have cut one of the upper panels but then I was afraid it would weaken the roof. The bottom line was after talking with the boss, wife, we opened up enough of the gazebo to have a full six pieces to go around the entire top and to get the gazebo sides over ten feet into the air. It’s actually about ten feet six inches high now at the walls with the roof I think it will be another 4-5 feet higher.

This morning I decided to do a little research on how to put the roof together. Yeah, I was better off not knowing. They used a crane, built the roof and then stood on the ground and proceeded to add a row of panels and lift up the entire grain bin as they built it. No ladders needed! The only drawback for me is that I don’t own a crane. Instead we used the trusty Kubota with the forks on it, a chain and some Vice-grips to hold the chain at the far end of the forks. This worked to get the third and fourth row in place. The fourth row was the worst. We ended up having to drill out three holes that we just could not get lined up, they were off by about 1/8” and the entire rest of the panel was already bolted together.

Mr Rainman came over Friday morning and we got the three panels up on the high back wall. It was a battle to get them bent into shape, another problem with not putting them back on in the exact order they were removed. I put up the last three rings myself with the Kubota being my trusty partner. At no point did I fall. I did tear my finger away from one of my fingernails enough to make it bleed and discovered a metal sliver in my finger this morning. The bolts had to be put on between the panel and the wooden support posts and this was an incredibly tight fit. Putting the posts 1/2” from the metal and then adding bolts meant some of the bolts are touching the posts. This is a good thing when I screwed in the lag bolt anchors.

The trusty Kubota is not going to be able to lift the center ring for the roof. It will only lift something about eight feet into the air. I am going to bolt two ten foot 6×6 posts to the upright frame of the forks resting each one on a fork. But first I am going to get a stout wooden pallet. This will let me put a diagonal support out to the front of the forks. I will then build a small open box with 45 degree supports at the top for the posts. This is where the roof ring will sit. I can then lift it up and get it centered with the tractor and then assemble the roof. I think this will work. No, I am confident this will work!

I just have to figure out how the roof support pieces go onto the sides…

Farm 3/ Predators 2

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There tends to be an optimism that persists whenever you are talking about predator control. Maybe it’s hope, maybe it’s bragging rights but whatever it is it does happen. I have had to decrease the farm score this year as last night a raccoon killed two chickens. It was most likely the same raccoon I saw at 0200 when I took the puppy outside to potty. I was of course in a robe and slippers without any glasses on. No way it was a cat as it jumped out of the large wild rose bush and proceeded to run down the creek and under the fence and then down the creek. It was very noisy. I was ignoring it until Mr Rainman sent me pictures of two dead chickens today with a third one injured. If the stupid chickens would go inside the coop this would not happen.

So now I am going to have to go out, check on the chickens and then just stand around looking for frogs to see who can out wait whom. A classic game of prey vs predator.

Since the farm is ahead of the predators I decided I had better be proactive tonight and make sure all of the chickens went into the coop before the automatic chicken door closed. All of the chickens were inside and the only animal I spotted was the grey barn kitty down by the creek. I was standing by the coop looking into the back creek with my spotlight trying to find the noisy frog that I know was right in front of me when a damn raccoon jumped out of the bush next to the chicken coop. It was running over the overhead soon to be roof supports. I had my trusty suppressed 22 pistol and started flinging lead into the sky. I for sure hit it at least once if not twice. By the time I got around the coop and into the ram pasture it was running toward the barn. I am a firm believer in more lead matters, so I continued to fling it. I managed to get off nine rounds and had to search the barn. I was unable to find the raccoon in the barn. Annmarie thinks it is living over the tack room during the day.

Mr Rainman came out today and repaired the sickle mower for the Kubota tractor. Later he went out and finished cutting field one. I think there is about three acres left to process in that field. I really need to focus on repairing the u joints on the John Deere tractor tomorrow. I had to dig out some grass on the driveline on Sunday and the U joints are bad! I have all the parts to repair it but have not taken the time to actually do it.

We had to take a break today to unload the antiques we won at an auction. One of the local antique stores in Pendleton was having multiple clearance online auctions and today was pickup day. I had to make two trips with the pickup to get everything. Now I will need to wash and polish everything up. We are going to rearrange our living room and Annmarie’s office to fit the new furniture. We are actually going to get rid of three items and replace them with three new ones! I scrubbed the bronze book ends and small brass sculpture tonight. Plus, I managed to score some more old marbles!

Hay storage remodel

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I have been thinking about hay so Mr Rainman was mowing fields, the cheat grass is trying to take over parts of the farm. I went in and moved out the last of the broken hay bales and started to dig out the hay storage area in the machine shed. Once I had all the hay out I cleaned it out with the bucket and started working on digging a “T” shape at the back of the building to allow me to put in a French drain that will remove moisture and drain it out into a water sink in front of the building. The runoff from the roof is collecting and causing moisture issues.

Mr Rainman and I spent about two hours digging ditch and moving the dirt out. We are waiting on gravel to be delivered. I ordered it and it came this week. The ditch needs to be a little deeper and then I will install the drain and fill it up with gravel. Once that is done the entire bottom will be graveled. My hope is that I can get the Gingerman to come over with a bigger tractor and stack the bales 3-4 high. I could store 45 large bales in that area if they are stacked. Once we have the inside all completed we will work on a French drain on the backside of the machine shed. I dug a gravel trench years ago and it did make a huge difference but now I want the majority of the moisture to go away fairly quickly. We are no longer just getting “a little” rain at a time now. We are getting 1/2-1” at a time! This causes other problems. If you had not noticed the problems tend to change therefore causing new problems that old solutions no longer cure.

Once Mr Rainman left I got on the tractor and mowed cheatgrass until dark. I remembered why I need to not wear my hearing aids with ear muffs after the muffs pushing my ear up against the hearing aid for four hours. I had a heck of an external ear ache that lasted a few hours. Plus, the external pocket battery did not have enough juice to recharage my Bluetooth speaker headphones so I had to mow in silence. I charged them up that night so that would not happen again!

The wife says I managed to snore and moan at the same time in my sleep that night. She believes that I should do some form of baseline exercise year round instead of diving right in at spring time and working myself into the ground or until I cannot physically continue. It does make more logical sense, no question about it. In another month or so I should be past most of the pain.

We are having raccoon issues again. We have one coming to the back porch where we feed the cats. The Gingerman and wife failed to kill it. I have not seen it yet but keep getting woken up by the dogs barking which causes me to get out of bed and attempt to see the raccoon. No luck, but I am not losing chickens yet so I will keep after it. Eventually, I will get lucky or the raccoon will get unlucky.