Hot Cowboy Action

We’ve been having rather warm weather, and on Sunday my first match went fine as it was only about 90° out in the morning.

I had to leave early to meet my Aunt and Uncle who were coming-up this way, and who we had invited to stop-by anytime for lunch — so I missed the last stage (“The Last Stage to Tombstone!”), which was two Drifters and a vulture in a Nevada sweep. Or something.

As you might imagine, I’m one of the younger contestants, but it’s a hoot to clang steel and change arms, from the pistol to the rifle to the shotgun.

I need another .44-40 single action because trying to run the ammo-combination of .45 Long Colt AND .44-40 is a handful at the loading table.

 
The emblem on my campaign hat is for 4th Infantry Regiment, F Company – but also known otherwise in the modern army as 4-F which brings a slightly different connotation.

 
 

Meanwhile back at the ranch. . .’hunnerd degrees plus.

I wanted to get to the bottom of the spring-situation, so digging commenced on a day that was just about 103° with no shade – but there was a bit of a breeze and I had several water bottles.

I have decided to surround the spring with a low manufactured stone curb, so as not to drop a wheel into it when things get wet.

The circle will be about five feet across so with circumference = π x diameter, I’m at 15 feet of rock needed or something like that.

I hitched-up the wagon to the John Deere and headed out into the pasture. Three loads later – about two yards (?) of soft dirt were removed and the hole-bottom leveled.
I dumped the dirt in the low spot by the fence where the water runs-through in the rainy season.  I can plant grass on it.
I basically stopped when I started to hit alluvial gravels in the center, and the circle was about a foot and a half deep.
The dirt was moist and stuck together, whereas elsewhere in the field the ground is nearly rock-hard, so there something down there.  Also found a horseshoe.

UPDATE: More hot Cowboy Action!

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Backyard Archaeology

There we were, no-shit! Hunkered down behind the concrete bunker….

After my plumber-friend came by to help with his expertise and professional acumen (“feel”) for setting the throne, I mentioned that when one flusher is dumped, there is a “blurp-echo” in the other. Which he observed before we set to work, and said perhaps it was something to do with the construction of the toilet we were removing – and to test after the install.
So we did. *Blurp.*
And so he asked about the previous inhabitants, and upon hearing the words, “wife and two little girls” he abruptly said, “That’s it! You have no idea how quickly wet-wipes and XYZ add up in a system! Why didn’t you have a septic inspection prior to the sale?”
Problem was that this place sold in just one day with multiple offers, and to complete the sale we (and all the other buyer-competitors) released all contingencies… We “won” because of a variety of reasons, not just on price.
“You probably need to get it pumped.”
So I set-to, digging to find the caps.
I had one re-bar loop to navigate-by, but remember seeing another. Found that corner and then began to dig for the others. Fortunately with all this rain the ground wasn’t as hard as a rock, as is normally. So I made some progress and excavated down to one long-side of the tank. My aching back. Thank-God for the rubber Muck boots. Anyhow, found those two and discovered the orientation and called it a night.

In the morning around 9:30AM I called Sweets and talked about getting onto their schedule, which as it happened they have an opening today.
Awesome! “Do you have a strong young kid to dig?” Sure at $115/hour! Oops I better keep moving dirt myself. I hit the blender with a blueberry smoothie, and an egg for protein and got my gloves. At that price I could afford a bit of exercise.
After working digging till Noon I finally got the entire tank-excavation uncovered and hosed down, and using my Archaeology skillz and Marshall town trowel everything looks nice.


Marshalltown trowels because they are forged and the strongest ones for plying the dirt and rocks at an excavation site.

UPDATE: Yeh it was full – had not been pumped in several ownership turnovers.

Suburban Archaeology

The sun was out and the chill has backed-off, so we went out to spread some tanbark around the lower oleanders now that they have been trimmed-back.
Once down there I realized the quasi-terrace needed a bit of rock-work to sustain said terrace.
Scooping around with a trowel I uncovered and discovered a heretofore buried drip-line valve with a clean-out, and further digging revealed a poured-concrete, rain-gutter water-diverter.

Always something new! I left the slab in place and worked on the rock-wall for a while, and then spread the bark. At another location the oleander had grown around the drip-line hose, and the rock-escarpment there also needed shoring-up, so I repaired that and fixed the dripper too.