Texas Fall/Winter thread!

[bindian]

The wind was ripping yesterday afternoon. The sky was blue and full of lightning. Conroe got pounded with rain. We got 1/4 inch. Hopefully, more will drop later this afternoon.:thumbsup: Both ponds are down 2-3 feet.
The dirt parts of the driveway are pure dust.
hugs, Brandi

 

[jinman]

Both ponds are down 2-3 feet.
The dirt parts of the driveway are pure dust.
hugs, Brandi

Brandi, my deepest pond is down over 4'. I think with the sloped banks, its at least down half its capacity. My newly built holes in the ground are just that: ugly holes in the ground.

If I wash my car at home, by the time I drive 1-mile down the road to the highway, the car is covered in dust and I can hardly see out the rear window. If I wash the car in town, it stays clean until I get to my road coming home. We laugh about being able to easily tell where folks live by the dust on their cars. I need a bumper sticker that says, "My other car is just as dirty as this one."

 

[Western]

My daughter wrote on the side of my GMC 1 ton work truck " GM test dirt, DO NOT WASH" I drove almost to New Mexico before I noticed, I wondered why people where giving me the :thumbsup: sign. Each time my nephew and I checked the rear mirrors to see if we had lost a tire:laughing:

 

[ronjhall]

Wouldn't a lost tire get you a :thumbdown:?

 

[txdon]

Lost tire would be hard to sign :donut::confused3:

 

[jinman]

Neighbor: Called me all in a panic yesterday. She said, "Jim! Somebody is marking your trees with red paint."
Me: Yep! That's just me marking all the dead trees so I can spot them when all the leaves fall off this winter.
Her: Oh! I thought somebody was spray painting your trees. . .

I don't know what she's gonna do when she sees the purple paint I'll put on the property line soon. The beauty of all this is that nothin' escapes this neighbor. She is very observant.

 

[Western]

Neighbor: Called me all in a panic yesterday. She said, "Jim! Somebody is marking your trees with red paint."
Me: Yep! That's just me marking all the dead trees so I can spot them when all the leaves fall off this winter.
Her: Oh! I thought somebody was spray painting your trees. . .

I don't know what she's gonna do when she sees the purple paint I'll put on the property line soon. The beauty of all this is that nothin' escapes this neighbor. She is very observant.

Nothing like a neighbor that "watches" your place for ya!:laughing:

At 1st we didnt know if it was a:thumbsup: or a poor rendition of the middle finger!!

 

[bindian]

Neighbor: Called me all in a panic yesterday. She said, "Jim! Somebody is marking your trees with red paint."
Me: Yep! That's just me marking all the dead trees so I can spot them when all the leaves fall off this winter.
Her: Oh! I thought somebody was spray painting your trees. . .

I don't know what she's gonna do when she sees the purple paint I'll put on the property line soon. The beauty of all this is that nothin' escapes this neighbor. She is very observant.

Jim,
Why purple paint. Dad taught me purple paint is marking national forests. Our next to last deer lease had a national forest boundary.
hugs, Brandi

 

[jinman]

Jim,
Why purple paint. Dad taught me purple paint is marking national forests. Our next to last deer lease had a national forest boundary.
hugs, Brandi

Brandi, in Texas, purple paint in a vertical 1" or wider stripe at least 3' above the ground up to 5' or at least 8" long between those dimensions is a way of posting property. It's been the law since 1997. You don't have to put up a No Trespassing sign, just mark your fence posts or trees with the purple paint and you are protected by the statute. It's easier and cheaper than maintaining signs. The stripes have to be visible and every 1000 feet minimum. The idea is to make them easily visible for anyone entering the property. I plan to use a high density exterior latex paint and brush it on. I'll let my grandson have the fun of wielding the brush.

 

[bindian]

Brandi, in Texas, purple paint in a vertical 1" or wider stripe at least 3' above the ground up to 5' or at least 8" long between those dimensions is a way of posting property. It's been the law since 1997. You don't have to put up a No Trespassing sign, just mark your fence posts or trees with the purple paint and you are protected by the statute. It's easier and cheaper than maintaining signs. The stripes have to be visible and every 1000 feet minimum. The idea is to make them easily visible for anyone entering the property. I plan to use a high density exterior latex paint and brush it on. I'll let my grandson have the fun of wielding the brush.

View attachment 287681

Oh........I didn't know they changed that. 1996-97 is when Dad (and I) stopped deer hunting.
hugs, Brandi

 

[txdon]

The question is do the hunters know the law. Several years after the law was passed I asked the hunters at work and none of them knew what the purple paint meant.

 

[Bird]

The question is do the hunters know the law. Several years after the law was passed I asked the hunters at work and none of them knew what the purple paint meant.

I had no idea this purple paint thing existed, but I guess it's OK since I haven't been a hunter now for many years and don't go on other people's property uninvited.:laughing:

 

[jinman]

Since we are all talking about this, I'll post this link. I didn't realize just how few people would know this law among those who you'd expect: fire fighters, ex-law enforcement, acreage owners, etc. An interesting part of the law is that an obvious crop present or just cattle make entry without permission unlawful, even if from the air. If a hot air balloonist comes down in the middle of your grain field, they are trespassing it would seem.

My reason for purple painting my trees is to prevent somebody from being able to say they did not know the property was posted. I'll use a combination of purple paint and signs. Every year I have to run people off my property; some are neighbors and others are people I don't know who think they can get out of their boat on my shoreline and then go "exploring" at will. I went to Walmart yesterday and bought a quart of bright purple exterior latex paint and a couple of cheap brushes. This weekend, I plan to take my grandson and go out marking trees. We are gonna mark the dead trees with bright international orange and several property line trees with purple. It'll be an adventure.

 

[txdon]

Jim, do you know if the purple paint is the law in all states?

 

[jinman]

Jim, do you know if the purple paint is the law in all states?

No it is not! Some states don't have the paint law. Many who do have the paint law use different colors. It's a mixed bag.

 

[bindian]

Since we are all talking about this, I'll post this link. I didn't realize just how few people would know this law among those who you'd expect: fire fighters, ex-law enforcement, acreage owners, etc. An interesting part of the law is that an obvious crop present or just cattle make entry without permission unlawful, even if from the air. If a hot air balloonist comes down in the middle of your grain field, they are trespassing it would seem.

My reason for purple painting my trees is to prevent somebody from being able to say they did not know the property was posted. I'll use a combination of purple paint and signs. Every year I have to run people off my property; some are neighbors and others are people I don't know who think they can get out of their boat on my shoreline and then go "exploring" at will. I went to Walmart yesterday and bought a quart of bright purple exterior latex paint and a couple of cheap brushes. This weekend, I plan to take my grandson and go out marking trees. We are gonna mark the dead trees with bright international orange and several property line trees with purple. It'll be an adventure.

Thanks Jim! Now that I read it and am thinking about it. Maybe that deer lease was not beside National Forest and was, indeed, beside Lumber Company land...........thus land use for a timber harvest.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Western]

Looks like tonight and tomorrow will have a good possibility of much needed rain for N Texas..Yeah

The last couple of mornings have been, well, warm, in the 60's for me. Weatherman is saying strong cold front for next week, low 30's at night, so I have been trying to get squared away on outside projects, like draining water, gathering firewood. Not even going to mess with all the leaves, we have went from "Green" to "brown" in a short span this year and the high winds the past few days have nearly removed all the leaves from the oaks at my place.

 

[Bird]

I haven't entirely given up hope for some rain, but the NWS has already started back pedaling; lowering the percentage, currently at 20% chance tonight and 60% tomorrow. I've already drained and put away all the soaker hoses and garden hoses; even put the styrofoam covers over the outside faucets, so I don't think the cooler weather will bother us too much.

 

[jinman]

If we don't get rain tonight/tomorrow, I'm gonna be draggin' hoses up to my bluebonnets to give them a drink. The forecast is not for any really cold weather, so I'm a long way off from hose put-away. I would've been watering the last two days, but the wind has been too high. My bluebonnets are everywhere. The ground is just green with tiny plants gasping for water. I may not be able to save all of them, but I'll try to save as many as I can. If it rains just 1/4" or more, I'll be a happy camper.

 

[Bird]

When I said my hoses were "put away" . . . well, the soaker hoses are coiled up in a 30 gallon garbage can and stored in the garden tool storage building. But the water hoses stay outside anyway. Earlier this year, I bought some Gilmour Flexogen hoses; two 50' and one 75' hose and I have 3 hose reels I put them on. I did drain the water from them, but can still use them anytime; just should drain them again, if I do. These 8 ply hoses are heavy, but they really do resist kinking, claim to be good up to about 500 psi, and with a lifetime warranty, they claim to be the last hose you'll ever buy.

For reasons unknown to me, all the hose reels I've found will seriously kink a hose right at the connection, because of the angle of the hose fitting, or if the hose is stiff enough, as these are, they don't lay down on the reel as they should. But I found some really nice brass 45 degree angle fittings at Walmart that solved that problem.