Good morning!!!!

[toppop52]

I think Illinois could use a new Roomba?

View attachment 542676

They missed a spot.

 

[daugen]

They missed a spot.

they only missed the votes they wanted to miss...
total opposite of KISS

 

[lostcreekranch]

Sam’s Club has the Roomba 665 on sale for $270. Unfortunately, the 665 only works on a dialup modem and you have to hook a phone cord to it. It has an optional paint marker feature that “draws” its cleaning map on your floors.



iRobot Roomba 665 Vacuum Cleaning Robot - Sam's Club

 

[daugen]

Good one Rick. Just think back twenty years.
Could you have imagined communicating with your vacuum cleaner with a device in your pocket that worked anywhere in the world?

 

[lostcreekranch]

Good one Rick. Just think back twenty years.
Could you have imagined communicating with your vacuum cleaner with a device in your pocket that worked anywhere in the world?

We have an Oreck and a Dyson at the Ranch. The Oreck understands “sit”, “stay”, and “who’s a good Boy?”. The Dyson .... not so much.

 

[daugen]

Bought two more sets of Texas sweet onions this morning, they looked nice...basically written off all my own onions raised from seed.

Ordered twenty compact bales of straw for the garden for mulching around plants, no coastal hay anywhere nearby.
No one seems to mulch vegetables here, they all hoe and hoe and hoe. Not me. Melons will rot or get bugs pretty quick if you don't have something under them
from my experience. Have seeds for about 15 kinds of melons, about a third watermelons. They have to wait until late April.
Taking the soil thermometer out into the garden today, am curious what it reads in the hills and then in the furrows.
Best time to measure I suppose is right at daybreak. The hills may get nice and warm during the day but are they then cycling back to too cold at the
end of the night. When the sun comes up, things heat up quickly here.

the more I know the more I realize I don't know enough
I really ought to take some ag courses at the local community college, all of fifteen minutes from my home.
I could get the same info asking a lot of questions down at the local greasy spoon each morning,
but I'd get a heart attack from eating the food.

 

[PJSprog]

40°F and rain this morning, going up to 48° with rain on and off most of the day.

Holy cow, have you guys been busy here this weekend. I really need to be better about stopping in at least once. Takes too long to catch up just in this thread on Monday mornings. :laughing:

Wishing Eddie and his wife well. Seems like a super nice guy. (this place is full of them)

Spent Saturday morning assembling the chicken coop kit The Wife bought from Tractor Supply. It went together very well. I'm not going to suggest it's the hardiest structure on the planet, but for a kit in a box, it's not too bad. Took us about two hours. It looks like it will fulfill the need just fine, at least for a few years. We had been going back and forth about where to place it, and in the end went with the original idea under the tree in front of the barn. Wifey got to use her new little Dewalt for a bigger project than just hanging pictures.



Wife was looking around on the 'net Friday and noticed that the golden chicks we had looked nothing like the black Wyandotte chicks she was seeing in pictures. She called TS and asked a lady there, who agreed that they should be black. After texting her a picture, she confirmed that they are not Silver Laced Wyandottes, but are instead New Hampshire Reds. Wife went back and got the correct ones, and was told to just keep the others, as they don't take returns on animals. So, now we are up to 10 chicks already. I picked up a 2'x2'x4' galvanized steel tank from Rural King Saturday afternoon. The chicks are all that now with a wire lid The Wife built to keep out the cats.

Spent most of the day yesterday in the studio just goofing around ... a music day. It's been a long time since I've done that. Played my drums for awhile, guitar for awhile, bass for a good long while, then guitar a little more. Called it about 8pm. Fingers are sore today. Lost my callouses.

No InstaPot here either. Wife doesn't want one.

Starting to get verbose, which I've recently read somewhere can make me a target of good-natured ridicule. Hoping to avoid being selected for that Manual committee (been there, done that, have the T-shirts).

 

[Looking4new]

txdon,
mushy peas are marrowfat peas with the snot boiled out of them. They come in a box dried out and as hard as nails. Soak them in water with the included bi-carb of soda overnight, drain, refill with cold water and boil. They are good with vinegar on, better with salt. Season to taste.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Bought two more sets of Texas sweet onions this morning, they looked nice...basically written off all my own onions raised from seed.

Ordered twenty compact bales of straw for the garden for mulching around plants, no coastal hay anywhere nearby.

Drew, in case you were wondering about the TAMU 1015 sweet onion.

History of the Sweet Texas Onions | Archives | Aggie Horticulture

Straw is better than hay as you have high chance of bringing in weed seed with hay. Learned that from my Grandma 60+ years ago.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Good morning all! Got spoiled the past few days with temperatures in the mid to upper 60's. Got real windy yesterday, 30-40 continuous, gusts recorded at 55. Made a lot of dust blowing around. Today much cooler, low this morning was 20, going to upper 40's, then slowly increasing up rest of the week. Wind down to 10-15 today.

Knee is still the same as far as pain goes. MRI results were a shock. Have "complex tear of medial meniscus, 10mm delaminating fracture of medial condyle, and associated injury to cartilage. Left a message w/ occ. med. last week, but no one has called back yet. First Doc I had gone to diagnosed it as "strain", only did X-rays and palpated knee. The 2nd Doc couldn't believe he didn't order at least an MRI. Well I suspect that surgery is on the horizon, we'll see.

I have been working on my project, wearing brace on the knee, hasn't seemed to make it better or worse. Keeping moving around seems to make it feel better, but night time gets real stiff. I'll post pics of what progress is made on the project.

Hopefully all you guys are doing well, not too many reports of illnesses ongoing /reported. Been following, just not posting.

Prayers sent out to those needing, have a great start of your week.

 

[txdon]

Drew want to try to grow Belgian Endive? I just order some with the produce department of our HEB Store. As you unwrap each leaf it is a great addition to hold hummus like a chip and it's crunchy like celery. They served them on the cruise and we really like them. Growing it seems complicated.
How California Endive is Grown - YouTube

Do not use coastal hay it can actually sprout and then you have a big mess.

 

[lostcreekranch]

40°F and rain this morning, going up to 48° with rain on and off most of the day.

Holy cow, have you guys been busy here this weekend. I really need to be better about stopping in at least once. Takes too long to catch up just in this thread on Monday mornings. :laughing:

Wishing Eddie and his wife well. Seems like a super nice guy. (this place is full of them)

Spent Saturday morning assembling the chicken coop kit The Wife bought from Tractor Supply. It went together very well. I'm not going to suggest it's the hardiest structure on the planet, but for a kit in a box, it's not too bad. Took us about two hours. It looks like it will fulfill the need just fine, at least for a few years. We had been going back and forth about where to place it, and in the end went with the original idea under the tree in front of the barn. Wifey got to use her new little Dewalt for a bigger project than just hanging pictures.

View attachment 542681 View attachment 542679 View attachment 542680

Wife was looking around on the 'net Friday and noticed that the golden chicks we had looked nothing like the black Wyandotte chicks she was seeing in pictures. She called TS and asked a lady there, who agreed that they should be black. After texting her a picture, she confirmed that they are not Silver Laced Wyandottes, but are instead New Hampshire Reds. Wife went back and got the correct ones, and was told to just keep the others, as they don't take returns on animals. So, now we are up to 10 chicks already. I picked up a 2'x2'x4' galvanized steel tank from Rural King Saturday afternoon. The chicks are all that now with a wire lid The Wife built to keep out the cats.

Spent most of the day yesterday in the studio just goofing around ... a music day. It's been a long time since I've done that. Played my drums for awhile, guitar for awhile, bass for a good long while, then guitar a little more. Called it about 8pm. Fingers are sore today. Lost my callouses.

No InstaPot here either. Wife doesn't want one.

Starting to get verbose, which I've recently read somewhere can make me a target of good-natured ridicule. Hoping to avoid being selected for that Manual committee (been there, done that, have the T-shirts).

PJ, is your coop light enough for a couple of people to lift it and move it around from place to place? I’ve see some coops with small bicycle wheels on one end and handles on the opposite end so coop could be move around for bug control.

“The chicks are all that now with a wire lid The Wife built to keep out the cats.”

I can imagine the chicks looking up and seeing the cats looking down at them ...... licking their lips.

There was an old feed store years ago that kept cats in the feed warehouse to eliminate mice. The owner had a big galvanized water trough to keep chicks in with a chicken wire cover. He told me that every day, when he opened, the four cats would be on top of the wire cover, watching the chicks.

 

[txdon]

txdon,
mushy peas are marrowfat peas with the snot boiled out of them. They come in a box dried out and as hard as nails. Soak them in water with the included bi-carb of soda overnight, drain, refill with cold water and boil. They are good with vinegar on, better with salt. Season to taste.

Ohhh! Thanks, I'll look in the store for some. I did find them on Amazon if I can't find them locally.

 

[CWB Wyo]

The low was 11* this morning, it snowed most of yesterday. We got about another 4 inches, the wind was blowing hard all day. Looks like we have some 3 ft drifts. Today is going to be in the mid 30's and partly cloudy. But they are calling for the wind to be 25-30.

I'll see what the wind is doing later today. It may not be worth trying to move the snow drifts today.

Hope everyone has a nice day.
CWB.

 

[jbrumberg]

Good morning everyone.

A .75" coating of snow to start the day; still breezy; temperature ~ freezing. It looks ever more likely that the NE will be seeing a coastal storm developing Tuesday - Thursday. Rain/snow line is still uncertain. It will be a "snow management event."

Don- A brave Whipper. That snake was not happy. Thanks for sharing.

LS- That's not a good report. Knee surgery is not fun. It sucks when an injured joint hurts when it is used and hurts even more when it is not. Take care.

Ron- Good luck with the PT.

My + thoughts, wishes, and prayers for all.

I hope everyone has a decent Monday.

 

[PJSprog]

PJ, is your coop light enough for a couple of people to lift it and move it around from place to place? I’ve see some coops with small bicycle wheels on one end and handles on the opposite end so coop could be move around for bug control.

“The chicks are all that now with a wire lid The Wife built to keep out the cats.”

I can imagine the chicks looking up and seeing the cats looking down at them ...... licking their lips.

There was an old feed store years ago that kept cats in the feed warehouse to eliminate mice. The owner had a big galvanized water trough to keep chicks in with a chicken wire cover. He told me that every day, when he opened, the four cats would be on top of the wire cover, watching the chicks.

Yes. It's about 200-ish pounds. We were able to move it OK. Our biggest problem is that I'm 6' she's only 5'2", so she had a hard time finding a good place to lift. One hand on the nesting box and one under the roof was OK for me, but not so much for her. We'll likely just leave it where it is. She may or may not let them free range during the day, and she's already talking about possibly building an extension run on one side.

When we had the chicks in the dog crate, our female cat was content to just sit and watch them. The male, though, was caught several times with his (declawed) paws in there trying to get to them. When we put them in the trough, she left the room for a couple of minutes and came back to find him on top. That got him banished from the sunroom. :laughing:

 

[sodamo]

65°F and .88 inches rain.

Still hoping for a dry day to mow before we have a growth explosion.

Prayers for all.

Be safe.

Have a great day

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Yes. It's about 200-ish pounds. We were able to move it OK. Our biggest problem is that I'm 6' she's only 5'2", so she had a hard time finding a good place to lift. One hand on the nesting box and one under the roof was OK for me, but not so much for her. We'll likely just leave it where it is. She may or may not let them free range during the day, and she's already talking about possibly building an extension run on one side.
When we had the chicks in the dog crate, our female cat was content to just sit and watch them. The male, though, was caught several times with his (declawed) paws in there trying to get to them. When we put them in the trough, she left the room for a couple of minutes and came back to find him on top. That got him banished from the sunroom. :laughing:

The wifey has talked about getting chickens for a couple of years now. We probably won't until at least next year, but I'm curious about a few things. How long do the chicks have to be inside or in a 'tub'? How old do they need to be when they start laying? Do you actually need a rooster in order for them to lay? Is free range better than just being in the coup?

I've cared for dogs, cat, horses, many small mammals and reptiles, exotic birds, and fish, but never chickens. Will it be a lot of work or just the 'normal routine' that goes w/ caring for any animal?

Our main (hers really) reason for getting chickens is for eggs.. I know fresh are much better, but is getting fresh eggs worth the time and effort?

 

[lostcreekranch]

Yes. It's about 200-ish pounds. We were able to move it OK. Our biggest problem is that I'm 6' she's only 5'2", so she had a hard time finding a good place to lift. One hand on the nesting box and one under the roof was OK for me, but not so much for her. We'll likely just leave it where it is. She may or may not let them free range during the day, and she's already talking about possibly building an extension run on one side.

When we had the chicks in the dog crate, our female cat was content to just sit and watch them. The male, though, was caught several times with his (declawed) paws in there trying to get to them. When we put them in the trough, she left the room for a couple of minutes and came back to find him on top. That got him banished from the sunroom. :laughing:

Maybe a two wheel dolly / hand truck for her end?

 

[Bird]

Our main (hers really) reason for getting chickens is for eggs.. I know fresh are much better, but is getting fresh eggs worth the time and effort?

Eggs are so cheap, and my wife doesn't eat them, so it would not be worth it to me. But then, I grew up out in a family that always had at least a couple of dozen hens..:laughing: