Movin' on Up!

Wait!
Did you complete all the mud work and sanding on the drywall by yourself? I was wondering about getting that done when you posted pics while in the middle of hanging all that sheet rock.
The place looks great.
Well done on the tractor, is it the 2.6L 3-cyl gasoline or the Ford 2.9L 3-cyl diesel?
And, what are you going to stock your pond with? Or is that the designated water hole for the Angus?
The painter did everything after the last screw went into the last bit of sheetrock.

Don't know the exact year or engine displacement, but it is diesel-fueled (to good effect)
 
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Congrats! New toy! How fast will it go, I know you have tested it. LOL
I used low range when driving it over from the neighbor's ranch. 14 MPH in top (LOW RANGE) gear. I'm cleaning it up and going on a diet myself, we hope to break 30 (in HIGH range) when the weather cools off a bit.

I rather surprised myself by not attempting a wheelie yet. That should be remedied later today. Just received a new meter cluster and the idler pulleys for the mower, so it's back to work.
 
I used low range when driving it over from the neighbor's ranch. 14 MPH in top (LOW RANGE) gear. I'm cleaning it up and going on a diet myself, we hope to break 30 (in HIGH range) when the weather cools off a bit.

I rather surprised myself by not attempting a wheelie yet. That should be remedied later today. Just received a new meter cluster and the idler pulleys for the mower, so it's back to work.
I used to drive an old McCormick FARMALL that could pull wheelies...scared the $hit out of me, many times.
I put every weight I could find on that weight carriage that was installed on the front end.

Movin' on Up!
 
I used to drive an old McCormick FARMALL that could pull wheelies...scared the $hit out of me, many times.
I put every weight I could find on that weight carriage that was installed on the front end.
My old tractor can wheelie just fine, I'm used to it. Still learning the new one, just put an hour and a half on it today after fixing the mower deck.
 
Wait!
Did you complete all the mud work and sanding on the drywall by yourself? I was wondering about getting that done when you posted pics while in the middle of hanging all that sheet rock.
The place looks great.
Well done on the tractor, is it the 2.6L 3-cyl gasoline or the Ford 2.9L 3-cyl diesel?
And, what are you going to stock your pond with? Or is that the designated water hole for the Angus?
The "pond" is just a dry mud pit at the moment. I need an excavator, and some Bentonite (lots of it) or plastic sheeting (also lots).

The neighbor to the south of me has a well-fed watering tank, the pond is very much seasonal.
 
FANTASTIC news regarding the County property tax evaluation, and my filing of a protest - it was not only accepted, but they gave me a final valuation LOWER than what I was proposing!

So, the difference in taxes in the first year alone, will pay for the fencing to keep the cattle off the building site and trailer yard!

A bit too late, as the cattle have made a mess of the entire area. They must have been trying to get out of the rain while we were on vacation, they pooped everywhere and knocked over pretty much everything that wasn't already laid down...
 
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Well, that was a proper mess. The cleanup is MOSTLY done, and other things have happened in the interim.

A cow (or a lot of bull) must have stepped on my quarter-turn utility faucet and drained 450 gallons of rainwater from my main storage tank! Grrrrr...... Once the water drained out, the pump just kept running 'till it MELTED and froze up. Once it drew enoiugh amps from locked rotor and heat buildup, it tripped the breaker.

Movin' on Up!


My standby pump ended up having a leaky pressure gauge AND a hairline crack on the manifold!!!!

Movin' on Up!


Movin' on Up!


Anyway, swapped parts all around and got one good working pump, then a warranty replacement which will be the new standby...
 
I put up all the cyclone fencing I still had from way back in 2018 in Laredo, but ended up with heat exhaustion bordering on heat stroke (I never lost consciousness). Had to cramp-waddle over to the truck and drive to the neighbor's place to get him to help me finish getting one porch enclosed so at least all that day's effort wouldn't be wasted. Took ELEVEN HOUTRS for the intense, constant cramping to abate where I could finally fall asleep. Couldn't work for 3 days after that.

Movin' on Up!


A few days later I bought enough hog wire panels to enclose the other end of the building, including the breezeway, having one heck of a time with the auger on the new tractor. The dirt was SO HARD, that I had to use a pickaxe to break it up enough to get a "bite" and plant a steel T pole. Well, with the first swing and "pull", I tweaked my back. 3 days no work, and to this day I'm still sore. I did manage to use the hammer drill to break up the hard dirt for 2 other holes I needed, and the temp fencing is more or less done.

Movin' on Up!


Next we rented a pressure washer and removed as much cow poop as we could...

Movin' on Up!
 
I loaded up all the rain barrels, brought them home and cleaned them out, then filled em to the top and took them to the ranch...

"before"
Movin' on Up!


"after"
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Approximately 3,000 lbs of clean water! the new truck didn't complain nearly as much as the old one used to...

Movin' on Up!


Topped that sucker up to the fill lid. Over 500 gallons.

Movin' on Up!
 
I thought you guys were getting some rain? Out at Childress we have Johnson Grass 5 foot tall lots of rain
 
I thought you guys were getting some rain? Out at Childress we have Johnson Grass 5 foot tall lots of rain
We were getting plenty of rain right up until about a week before the *&^%$# cow stepped on the faucet!!!!

Movin' on Up!
 
Too many "blanks" to fill in, I'll cut to the highlights-

Did a "Flying Wallenda" installation of a Harbor freight winch to get the ultralight up out of the way...

Movin' on Up!


Job's a good 'un!

Movin' on Up!


Installed temporary fencing to keep the cows out, after they made a royal mess of everything. Orange plastic mesh keeps the Pickleballs in the court.

Movin' on Up!
 
Got rid of ALL the trash, construction debris, and old lawn furniture cushions that the cows crapped all over. First tried the "local" landfill that wanted SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS to dump one pickup bed and a 6x12 trailer just over half full (they're NUTS), wasted an hour over and back. Then went to our usual landfill for our home county and got 'er done for $60. I've never had to wait in line in 6 trips before, this time it was 107F, and ALL THREE LINES were backed up 3 vehicles each!

I took all 6 of my rain barrels home and washed them thoroughly, then filled them up from the garden hose and hauled them back. One at a time I pumped them back into the big tank, set them back in place, then transferred the remaining water into 2 of the ones I'd set back in place empty. What a hassle...

Movin' on Up!


The new truck handled it well. Still had ample suspension travel with over 2,750 # of water weight.

Alex helped me wash the cow poop off the Pickleball/Basketball court...

Movin' on Up!


Tidied up the shop, pretty much ready for my 66th birthday bash to begin on 6/7...

Movin' on Up!


Movin' on Up!
 
I knew my older kids were getting together to buy me a Foosball table for my birthday, so was a bit quizzical when a "10x 20 Canopy with awning" arrived (my oldest son called to confirm it had been delivered). Uh oh! One phone call revealed the mix-up, and an actual Foosball table was dispatch on Overnight Delivery... It's a "Triumph"!

Movin' on Up!


2 of my neighbor friends helped me haul the beastie upstairs and we started to assemble it. Later that evening my 91-year-old friend George arrived from 250 miles away, and we got it finished and playable...

Movin' on Up!


Let the Games begin! I also hung up the dart board, and set up the Cornhole boards...

Movin' on Up!


Movin' on Up!
 
Official tally:
14 families represented (with my kids being 3 families of their own)
35 attendees altogether
Oldest attendee - George, age 91. Youngest Attendee - Eliza, age 6
1 dog, Butterscotch (ours)
1 motorcycle rider w/ passenger & camper w/ gear, etc (CT from 150 miles away)
Maximum number of persons sleeping over (Saturday night) = 9

Only one minor injury (washed and bandaged)
No fire trucks, ambulances, and/or law enforcement requested or required

Menu included (no way I can remember everything):
Pork Ribs
Chopped brisket
Shredded brisket
Regular sausage
Jalapeno Sausage
Ceviche (Mexican sushi-style salad)
2 different rice dishes
Corn on the cob (23 ears)
Ham & Cheese sandwiches
Mexican Charro beans
Guacamole, Ranch Dip, Salsa, Queso dip
5 kinds of chips
Mustard Potato salad, Mayo potato salad
Devilled eggs
Custom birthday cake: Carrot cake w/ German style frosting (caramel, coconut, pecans, etc)
Pineapple upside-down cake
Apricot pie
2 kinds of brownies
8 kinds of cookies
S'mores
3 kinds of tea
2 kinds of lemonade
Several alco-bevvies
Bottled water
Rainwater
CT fixed us up with fantastic high-meat-content bacon & eggs for brekkie, with nice coffee.

Activites included:
Pickleball
PingPong
Foosball
Golf (driving)
Baseball
ATVs, Dirt Bike & Go-Kart
Pellet & BB guns
Darts
Cornhole
Frisbee Golf
Mini Basketball

The biggest hits were ATVs, Foosball, Pickelball, Ping-Pong, Darts & Cornhole (pretty much in that order).

"...and a good time was had by all"
 
In the heat of Foosball battle! My 8-year-old grandson is a MANIAC! several times he scored 3-in-a-row. We made the unbeatable team.

Movin' on Up!


Pickleball was very spirited, Sally dominated that event...

Movin' on Up!


My grandson Xander turned out to be a hot shot with the darts...

Movin' on Up!


The visiting kid, Wyatt turned over on the 4-wheeler and scraped up his arm. Other than that, it all went quite well!

Movin' on Up!
 
The food was absolutely great. I got to keep all the BBQ leftovers (about 3 pounds of ribs and 2 pounds of Brisket)

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I can't believe we fit 35 people, 3 tables, and 17 chairs in that room!

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The hangar turned out GREAT with the Port-A-Cool keeping the air moving.

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...and NOW, time for the NEXT challenge!
 
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