It’s been warming up, but today hit the mark. Glad we switched out all the incandescent bulbs for LEDs.
Some shade standing under the pine in back, picking up cones and fallen branches – but still sweat steadily dripping off the brim of my straw cowboy hat. Remember to hydrate.
Looking nice today with mild temperatures and sun – and the cows are happy, but the second wave of weather is fixing to arrive tonight, and rain is forecast all day tomorrow.
The drainage project was working well and everything was drying out nicely, and I had even managed to mow the field twice- until this late storm moved in and dumped another inch-and-a-half yesterday, and another inch-and-a-half the day before yesterday. Now the “pond” is replenished and the “creek” is running again, fed by runoff from the surrounding hills.
At least I managed to get some grass-seed and soil amendment down on a bunch of brown spots – and it got rained-in. But the John Deere aerator-spreader I built was missing the “flow control lever” that controls the amount of stuff getting spread, so I hope the replacement part shows up soon and I can go back to playing in the dirt…
The High Country got another couple feet of snow with this storm and we are past the yearly rainfall average so there’s no drought this year, but also no extra reservoir storage – but the kids will be skiing on the 4th of July for sure!
A late storm bundled-up out of the Pacific and landed onshore, to give us a little weather and some feree sky-water. Probably the last rain of the season until October – but occasionally there are a few minor disturbances in Summer that also drop some water.
Before the rain (started last night) I managed to get some soil-amendment and grass seed mixed-up, and broke-up the hardpack clay brown-spots (in the foreground).
While digging and loosening the dirt in a couple of places I found large chunks of concrete left by the previous owner… He was a contractor, and according to my neighbor, used the field/pasture as a dumping ground for all sorts of stuff – and also had a big burn pile of rubbish, which I have been uncovering and removing debris. No problem! This whole deal is a multi-multi year project, and the main source of my exercise! Who needs a gym when you got all this wonderful stuff?
There’s a mild breeze blowing and the weather is perfect. Remember this in August.
First full cut on the prairie-pasture. The drainage has been a success and I was able to get the big John Deere out there earlier than ever before.
Six eight-foot long two-by-twelves make up the two new planter beds. Two were sawn in half to do the four-foot ends.
Quarter-inch hardware “cloth” screens the bottoms. Fastened together by impact wrench, using four-inch TimberLOK lag screws. The flat top plates are mostly decorative.
They are both buried about five inches deep, and first I had to rake-up the black tanbark and then shovel-out all the dirt onto a tarp. It was a good couple days work, and boy are those things heavy!
This is not pressure-treated so the expected life-span is not great. Plus it’s nailed, so temperature acts on it, expanding and contracting, it gets loose. At least the drip system is already in place.
We’re back to a bit of off and on rain, but the high country is set to get another four to six feet of snow over the next couple days.
Meanwhile things are bursting open in bloom – including trees, so I’m glad that no allergies afflict me! Spring is here, short but sweet, soon the long Summer will begin…
Not much to see this morning with rain-clouds and rain obscuring the sunrise, but yesterday was close. The red-line is the imaginary mid-point between the deck railings. The line of deck-screws is close but slightly to the left of mid-point. Anyhow funny how things turn out after a week of taking pictures…
