Good morning!!!!

Eric Salop · Jul 20, 2016

Good morning, with a bit of luck our mini heat wave is now over. I am sure I could get used to daytime highs of "only 88" as Randy describes it, although getting to sleep at night when it is still sweltering will need a lot more practise.

rswyan said:
Yesterday turned out to be a fairly exciting day.

Was cutting out doorways in drywall and managed to trip a smoke detector ... which set off the fire alarm ... throughout the entire building and emptied it out.

At least you left it a working fire system. Too many tape a little clear plastic bag over smoke detectors while making dust, then forget to take it off afterwards. Best to make a really ugly job of masking off detectors, with bits hanging down, then obvious to pull off when other work is finished.

Don, is carrot cake for breakfast a Texas only speciality, or can we all join in ? :licking:

farmer2009 · Jul 20, 2016

79 this morning and headed to 94 today. Chance of afternoon thunderstorms.

Well mowing is done. Parts are ordered for water filter. Had a automatic filter head go down yesterday. Broke the pin off the plunger during a back flush.

Today is bathroom work day. Have the surround ready to mark for the shower valve and then drill and install. Then it's on to drywall and luan on floor. Then start mudding.

RedNeckGeek · Jul 20, 2016

Good Morning! 65F @ 7:30AM. Plentiful sunshine. High 91F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.

Those are some very nice features being added to "The Internet of Things", David. But the wiring reminds me of the time a fella used all green wire for his Triumph motorcycle, then had a lovely time figuring out why it didn't run. Are all those leads marked in some way?

Wheels all primed and ready for sanding this morning. As usual, there are a few drips, to I'll have to be extra careful when I'm painting them. It's just too easy to overlap the paths and end up with too much paint in certain corners.

Also finished sanding the primer on the van interior, but the paint didn't show up as promised. The original UPS prediction seemed too good to be true, and it was.

Happy Hump Day gang!

rswyan · Jul 20, 2016

78.8 and sunny @ 10:45 ... high today predicted to be 86F, then low 90's for the next four days with chances of thunderstorms.

Did some trimming with the weed eater yesterday evening, then pulled weeds until it got too dark to see. Was a thoroughly enjoyable activity, in the cool of the evening.

Going up to neighbor's at noon to cut drip edges on the underside of the roofs for the bluebird nest boxes. Then I can caulk those and install them on the boxes and actually get the boxes put up.

Might order a new charger for the cordless drill today.

Need to run some packing materials that The Woman collected over to friends and scope out his mini-split and see how it works. He says he loves it.

Then run into town and grab some pallets for the drywall.

rswyan · Jul 20, 2016

wngsprd said:
12 hanging hummingbird feeders, 3 hanging sunflower and thistle feeders, 2 suet, and 2 hanging peanut butter/corn meal/lard blend cedar logs.

Yowsa ... you guys have got quite the feeding op going on there :thumbsup:

wngsprd said:
The posts are left out but we only put a day's worth of seed in them, so most nights they are empty.

Yeah ... I'm finding that the two tube feeders that I fill with sunflower seeds only last about two or three days at most, even if I fill them up all the way. Same deal with the traditional cedar perch feeder.

The two thistle feeders, which I'm running a "deluxe finch mix" in from a local company will go about a week or so before they are starting to get low.

The two suet feeders go maybe 5 days at most.

txdon · Jul 20, 2016

Eric Salop said:
Don, is carrot cake for breakfast a Texas only speciality, or can we all join in ? :licking:

Sorry it is a secret recipe of carrots, oats, pineapples, applesauce, blended dates, raisins and cinnamon.

I'm trying to find out how many times I need to cut mesquite down to the ground before it dies - I'm up to 4 times in two years now,

lostcreekranch · Jul 20, 2016

txdon said:
Sorry it is a secret recipe of carrots, oats, pineapples, applesauce, blended dates, raisins and cinnamon.

I'm trying to find out how many times I need to cut mesquite down to the ground before it dies - I'm up to 4 times in two years now,

Don, have you tried cut stump treatment using 25% Remedy / 75% diesel?

I use that on yaupons.

sodamo · Jul 20, 2016

70°F and .4 inches rain last 24 hours.
Putter around out in the tractor shed tidying up.

Be safe
Have a great day

Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet

sodamo · Jul 20, 2016

Buppies said:
67 high of 89 today upper 90s by weekend and no rain. With all of this heat it's going to dry out quick. Storms east of here yesterday but none here. Now no chance of rain till next week at the earliest. David your generation system is above my pay grade but fascinating none the less.

And it wasn't that many years ago I could barely spell generator, now I have several.

Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet

txdon · Jul 20, 2016

rlgustafson said:
Don, have you tried cut stump treatment using 25% Remedy / 75% diesel?

Yes, three times. I cut the continued regrowth off this morning. My neighbor's mesquite also grew back after Remedy/diesel so I know it's not just me. It did kill about 40%.

RedNeckGeek · Jul 20, 2016

txdon said:
Yes, three times. I cut the continued regrowth off this morning. My neighbor's mesquite also grew back after Remedy/diesel so I know it's not just me. It did kill about 40%.

Sounds like mesquite, depending on the variety, can have very deep roots. This wikipedia article recommends cutting down to at least 20cm (about 10 inches) into the ground to get at the roots. I have the same problem with yellow star thistle here, but have found glyphosate to be pretty effective. But that same article warns that mesquite plants should be pretty low, otherwise a bark applied herbicide is best. I've been using Brush-B-Gone, which contains Trichlopyr Ester, and it's been good on poison oak vines and shrubs, which like mesquite, are best killed with a bark applied herbicide.

Mesquite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Either way you go, it sounds like it's gonna be an uphill battle. Good Luck!

RedNeckGeek · Jul 20, 2016

Then there's this, which warns that cutting the trunks before spraying them is pretty ineffective:

Triclopyr - For Killing Mesquite/Locust Trees - CattleToday.com

Oh, and Remedy is 61% Trichlopyr, and I wish I could buy it here in Kalifornia.

rswyan · Jul 20, 2016

Landline internet (ATT Universe) is down ... they can't get anyone out until Thursday. Connecting the desktop via the iPhone.

First time I've used this feature, definitely handy ... although I need to figure out how to get it to remember the password ...

Gilwood Slot Box with raccoon baffle on the pole:

Still need to figure out the best location for the other one.

hawkeye08 · Jul 20, 2016

Kyle_in_Tex said:
Drive safe, are you in Iowa?

Thanks, we're in eastern Washington.. drive was safe and uneventful. There sure were an unusual amount of tire problems (not us).. lots of pieces on tires on roadway.

txdon · Jul 20, 2016

RedNeckGeek said:
Then there's this, which warns that cutting the trunks before spraying them is pretty ineffective:

Triclopyr - For Killing Mesquite/Locust Trees - CattleToday.com

Oh, and Remedy is 61% Trichlopyr, and I wish I could buy it here in Kalifornia.

He said the kill rate was 99%. Mine was 100% until the next season then they started coming back. I wonder what his field looks like a year later.

lostcreekranch · Jul 20, 2016

txdon said:
Yes, three times. I cut the continued regrowth off this morning. My neighbor's mesquite also grew back after Remedy/diesel so I know it's not just me. It did kill about 40%.

It needs to be applied immediately after cutting for best kill. In my experience even waiting 10-15 minutes reduces effectiveness.

Lots of good info on Texas A&M BrushBusters site.

Mesquite << Texas Natural Resources Server

Ed of all trades · Jul 20, 2016

Went and got 3 produce bags of corn, about 5 and 1/2 dozen to a bag. Glad we have extra fridges here. wife will work it up in the next couple days. I trimmed the dogwood tree and the crab apple. Both were painful to try to mow around. Had to haul it to the truck with the little trailer behind the lawn tractor. Walked the load down three times and need to do it again before tying it down and taking it to the dump. Have a great day all Ed

mostly_gas · Jul 20, 2016

Good evening all/ 78F this morning, previous afternoon clouds all gone, low wind. Made it to 98F inspite clouds reforming this afternoon. Got bike ride done, tiller now runs, coil was the culprit. Electronic ignition coil was same price as points operated coil, so good bye points.

farmer2009 · Jul 20, 2016

78 currently.

Well bathroom progress was good till about 5:30. Tub surround is up and most drywall is hung. But we had some glue residue from the removal of some mirrors that wouldn't come off. So thought we'd just put new drywall over it. That was fine but had to pull some electrical boxes. They were the remodel boxes anyways with the flip out ears. When I did I found a problem. Black wires. Upon further inspection it's only black where it has touched the paper backing on the insulation. So now I'll be calling an electrician in the morning. Just to have things checked out.